Supervisors info:
Βώρος Διονύσιος, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Φραγκουλίδης Γεώργιος, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Θεοδοσόπουλος Θεοδόσιος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Background
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common and most serious malignancies worldwide, accounting for 746,000 new cases and 614,000 deaths in 2012 alone. Although screening programs are offered in most developed countries and the new cases are recorded in national cancer databases, little is known about the treatment of CRC in Greece. The aim of this study is to examine the symptomatology and the status of CRC patients at the time of diagnosis as well as the type of their surgical treatment.
Methods
The hospital records of 249 patients with CRC who had undergone a procedure with curative intent, in Fourth Surgical Department, G. Papanikolaou Hospital Thessaloniki and in First Department of Surgery, 401 Army General Hospital Athens, were retrospectively studied. Patients were divided in two groups according to the location of their tumor (colon and rectum) and the results were compared to databases of developed countries.
Results
Abdominal pain was the most common presenting symptom (29,1% of cases) for right-sided CRC and a change in bowel habits for the left-sided CRC. In our study, 27.7% of the patients were admitted as surgical emergencies, while only 4.8% of the malignancies were detected by screening. Surgical treatment varied according to the location and the stage of the tumour. Histopathological study of the resection specimens allowed us to note that 5 patients (2%) have been diagnosed in stage 0, 45 (18,1%) in stage I, 83 (33,3%) in stage II, 95 (38,2%) in stage III and 21 (8,4%) in stage IV.
Conclusions
The demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients are in agreement with the existing bibliography. Further interpretation of the results highlights the need of increased participation in screening programs, creation of specialized cancer centers of excellence and establishment of a national cancer database, for a more effective treatment of colorectal cancer.
Keywords:
Colon cancer, Rectal cancer, Colorectal cancer, Stage, Symptoms, Surgical treatment
