Worldwide, bowel cancer is the second most cancerous disease affecting the gastrointestinal tract, and in Europe it has long been a leader. The success of his treatment is directly dependent on the timeliness of the detection of the tumor process.
Malignant neoplasm of an intestine, detected at an early stage, not only is perfectly treatable, but also gives the patient a high enough guarantee that he will never again face this ailment.
That's why the task of early detection of intestinal cancer is so urgent nowadays.
Methods for diagnosing intestinal cancer
When suspected of intestinal cancer, diagnosis always begins with the collection of anamnesis and physical examination of the patient, including his examination and digital examination of the condition of the rectum.
After initial examination, the specialist directs the patient to a series of instrumental studies using modern innovative equipment:
- rectoscopy;
- rectomanoscopy;
- colonoscopy;
- Irrigoscopy;
- ultrasound of the intestine and abdominal organs;
- computer and magnetic resonance imaging;
- fibroconoscopy;
- X-ray of the liver and abdominal cavity;
- intravenous urography;
- laparoscopy.
To make the right diagnosis, you need a laboratory blood test( perform a general analysis and a test for oncomarkers) and feces( for hidden blood).
How to identify the disease at an early stage?
In order to prevent the tumor process in the intestine to develop to an inoperable stage, each person should know a number of his first anxious manifestations, when they appear, you should immediately consult a doctor and go through a series of necessary studies.
The basis for the anxiety is:
- Irregularity or frequent changes in the nature of the bowel movement( then constipation, then diarrhea).
- Presence of blood in stool.
- Pale skin, anemia and a sharp decrease in body weight.
- State of persistent weakness and rapid fatigue.
- Constant pain in the anus.
- Prolonged and unreasonable increase in body temperature.
After the procedure of a barium X-ray or a colonoscopy, the doctor will quickly determine the cause of the anxiety symptomatology and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
People at risk for bowel cancer( having close relatives suffering from this disease) can secure themselves by regularly passing a medical examination in a clinical setting.
A person who has discovered the first suspicious symptoms, indicating the likelihood of developing bowel cancer, can use a home express test. After receiving a positive result, it is necessary to contact a qualified specialist as soon as possible.
Patient survey
With a competent patient survey, an experienced specialist can obtain very useful information that helps in the rapid formulation of the correct diagnosis.
During the conversation with the patient, the doctor analyzes his habits, lifestyle, information about the previous illnesses and the methods of the prescribed treatment.
When collecting an anamnesis, the doctor with the help of leading questions can identify the presence of such symptoms, which the patient does not even pay attention to.
In addition to clarifying the hidden and well-marked signs of the disease, the expert evaluates the work of the vital vital systems of the body, determines the presence of a tumor or any unusual manifestations.
Clinical features of
The nature of the symptoms in bowel cancer depends largely on the localization of the tumor process. Colon lesion is accompanied by:
- increase in body temperature to 37 degrees;
- by straining the muscles of the abdominal wall;
- alternating diarrhea and constipation;
- anemia;
- with nausea, loss of appetite;
- intestinal obstruction( complete or partial);
- abdominal pain( depending on the form of the cancer they can be sharp, blunt and cramping);
- by the presence of specific secretions from the rectum( impurities of pus, blood and tumor masses in the feces).
Sigmoid or rectal cancer manifests itself:
- with cramping abdominal pain;
- with an irregular stool character;
- difficulty in defecation, flatulence, lethargy or complete absence of intestinal peristalsis;
- the phenomena of an organism intoxication;
- with a feeling of incomplete evacuation of the intestine and false calls for its emptying;
- with a "ribbon-like" appearance and black color of feces;
- by the bleeding of the tumor, massive blood loss and the development of anemia;
- development of ascites( accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity), resulting in an increase in the circumference of the abdomen, dyspnea, poor digestion of food, frequent heartburn and belching sour.
Belly palpation
The stomach feeling method allows to identify:
- the degree of muscle strain;
- localization location, consistency, mobility and size of the tumor accessible to palpation;
- presence of spasmodic contractions of the intestine;
- presence of fluid accumulating in the abdominal cavity.
When palpating the perineal zone, the doctor must examine all external lymph nodes. In this case, the presence of a bulging malignant neoplasm may be detected.
Finger research
This is one of the simplest and most valuable methods of primary examination of a patient complaining of problems with the functioning of the large intestine and rectum that are included in the list of compulsory medical manipulations.
The primary rectal examination specialist conducts by inserting a finger into the rectum of the patient. Finger research allows you to feel the walls of the rectum, the anal canal and nearby organs.
Differing completely painless, it does not cause any unpleasant sensations to the patient.
Finger study allows you to assess the condition of almost half of the rectum. The presence of cancer damage in its use rarely goes unnoticed.
Instrumental methods
Methods of instrumental diagnostics using the latest advances in medical technology allow not only to diagnose correctly, but also to reveal the presence of metastases in the patient's body.
Raktromanoskopiya
In this study, which allows to assess the condition of the mucous membranes of the rectum at a site remote from the anus at 25 cm, a special device is used - a tubular rigid endoscope.
Represents a hollow metal tube equipped with a built-in lighting device, the sigmoidoscope is carefully inserted through the anal opening into the lumen of the rectum. Due to the presence of the eyepiece, the doctor can:
- examine the condition of the walls of the rectum: the degree of their elasticity, the nature of the internal relief, the color of the mucosa;
- to monitor the tone and motor function of the intestine;
- to detect pathological changes and neoplasms.
The procedure allows you to take a sample of tumor tissue for a microscopic examination - a biopsy. With the skillful introduction of a rectoscope, the procedure is quite painless;she does not require any anesthesia.
Irrigoscopy
This is a method of X-ray examination of the affected colon with the preliminary introduction of a contrast agent( barium suspension).
The series of X-ray photographs( irrigograms) performed during the procedure allows analyzing the localization, shape and length of the intestine, the degree of elasticity and extensibility of its walls, detect the presence of neoplasms and pathological changes in the mucous membranes. Painful sensations to patients irrigoscopy does not cause.
Fibro colonoscopy
This procedure consists in the introduction of a special device from the anus of the anterior opening - the fibrocolonoscope, the extreme length and flexibility of which allows us to examine with it the condition of the colon throughout its extent.
The presence of a video camera and lighting device allows the doctor to examine all areas of the intestine well, take the tissues of the detected tumor for subsequent biopsy and in some cases even remove small pathological tumors( benign tumors and polyps).
Ultrasound, CT and MRI
All these diagnostic methods are the most informative and safe for the patient's body.
- The ultrasound method allows you to get a clear picture that demonstrates the organ under investigation in dynamics. To improve the effectiveness of the study, rapid detection of a malignant neoplasm, its location and size during the procedure, a rectal sensor can enter the patient's body.
- CT of the pelvic, thoracic and abdominal cavities is a type of X-ray study. The patient's body is exposed to a small dose of radioactive radiation, and iodine is injected into his vein, which acts as a contrast agent. The CT procedure is invaluable for assessing the degree of metastasis of a malignant tumor.
- The MRI procedure, which gives a three-dimensional image of the organ under investigation, gives the best result for detecting a cancerous tumor. Its advantage consists in the uselessness of any preparatory measures. Contraindication to MRI is the presence of metal-containing elements in the patient's body.
X-ray of the abdominal cavity and radioisotope scanning of the liver
For an objective assessment of the state of the intestine and detection of intestinal obstruction, an overview radiograph of the abdominal cavity is performed by performing several X-ray photographs.
Contrast substance is not introduced at this time.
The procedure of radioisotope scanning of the liver is performed in order to exclude suspicions of metastasizing the cancer of the intestine into the liver.
After intravenous injection of isotopes accumulating in tumor tissues, a number of images are taken.
Intravenous urography
Another method of radiocontrast study with intravenous injection of contrast agent. After being present in the blood, the introduced substance through the urinary tract leaves the body of the sick person, incidentally staining them, the kidneys and the bladder.
The taken pictures allow the doctor to assess the condition of the genitourinary system and to detect the presence of metastases.
Laparoscopy
As an endoscopic study in which miniature optical systems are inserted into the patient's abdominal cavity through small punctures in its wall, the laparoscopy is treated as an surgical intervention. Perform it only under anesthesia.
Thanks to laparoscopy, the doctor can carefully examine all the organs of the abdominal cavity, draw conclusions about their condition and the presence of metastases, and also take material for biopsy.
Laboratory methods
Laboratory tests of the patient's blood and stool often help to detect bowel cancer at the earliest stages of its development.
The general analysis of blood and on oncomarkers: indicators
Not being a specific diagnostic test, a general blood test, nevertheless, is able to draw the doctor's attention to the atypical behavior of cells in the patient's body.
The presence of a hidden pathological process in the intestine can be evidenced by:
- Unreasonable increase in ESR on a background of normal or slightly elevated levels of leukocytes.
- An equally unexplained decrease in hemoglobin, which leads to the development of anemia. This picture is typical for cancer of the intestine and stomach.
A specific laboratory test that can detect intestinal cancer is a blood test for oncomarkers - specific antigens actively synthesized by cancer cells. Their high content in the blood indicates the presence of an oncologic focus in the patient's body.
Analysis of feces and urine for concealed blood
The analysis of feces for occult blood, which is recommended annually to give to people over 50 years old, does not always indicate the presence of bowel cancer.
Blood in the stool can appear due to the bleeding of a benign neoplasm( for example, a polyp) or some inflammatory process.
The presence of blood in stools in any case indicates a problem in the patient's body, requiring immediate treatment.
A common urine sample also helps to reveal a cancer that has affected the tissues of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. The doctor is sure to alert:
- The presence in the urine of even a minor admixture of blood( hematuria).
- Presence of cancer cells in the sediment.
Biopsy
The biopsy method is considered one of the most accurate in diagnosing intestinal cancer. With its help, you can finally confirm the diagnosis and distinguish a benign tumor from a malignant one.
A piece of tumor tissue the doctor can take during the course of:
- fibrocolonoscopy;
- laparoscopy;
- of sigmoidoscopy;
- surgical operation to remove intestinal tumors.
Tissue tissues are subjected to cytological and histological examination.
Histological examination
Performing a histological examination of cancer tissues, perform their laboratory cut, and then the resulting sample is examined with a microscope. The histology can be:
- Urgent, performed within half an hour. Such a study is performed in the most urgent cases( usually in a clinic).The prepared sample is subjected to a quick freeze before testing and tinted with a special reagent.
- Planned, which takes at least five days. Tumor tissues obtained in the process of sigmoidoscopy are subjected to treatment with paraffin and a special solution, as well as staining. Planned histological examination, in spite of the laboriousness and duration of the process, is more precise in its result.
Cytological study of
In this type of study, specialists study the structure of atypical cells and the nature of their degeneration. Under the microscope, the tumor tissue is not examined, as in histology, but individual cancer cells.
Cytological examination was performed:
- fragments of the rectum wall taken from a biopsy;
- purulent and mucous discharge, which blocked the lumen of the rectum;
- fingerprints of the mucous membranes of the problem.
Home express test for the detection of bowel cancer
Today every person, alarmed by the presence of suspicious symptoms, has the opportunity to determine whether there is hidden blood in his feces. This can be done with the help of special tests intended for use at home.
Photo of the step-by-step instructions of the home test for the detection of bowel cancer
Their advantages are:
- high( 99%) reliability of the obtained result;
- no need for special training or compliance with the diet;
- high-speed results( testing takes 5-7 minutes);
- no response to accepted vitamins and medications.
Who is shown?
Testing for detection of bowel cancer is recommended:
- Patients of any age who have disorders in the functioning of the digestive system.
- Persons over the age of fifty.
- Patients who reached the age of forty, having an inherited predisposition to intestinal cancer( to be tested every year).
Test procedure
- Before performing the test, the patient attaches to the rim of the toilet bowl a special sheet of paper, equipped with Velcro( included), designed to receive feces.
- Armed with a special stick, mounted in the cap of a plastic test tube with a ready-made reagent, a drop of feces is put on it, placed inside the tube and, after turning the lid, vigorously shaken.
- After this, after cutting off the plastic tip of the tube, squeeze out of it a drop of content onto the screen of a special tablet.
- Five minutes later, the result appears in his window: two bars indicate that the patient has a risk of developing cancer, one bar indicates its absence. It should be understood that this test only shows the presence of blood in the feces, which is observed with a variety of ailments.
What if the test is positive?
A positive result for the presence of blood in stool can be observed with:
- cancer of the rectum or colon;
- colitis and diverticulitis of the large intestine;
- intestinal polyposis;
- rectal cracks;
- hemorrhoids.
Cost and where you can buy
The cost of home express tests depends not only on the manufacturer, but also on trade margins that can significantly increase their original price.
- The test of domestic production "ImmunoCHROM-GEM-Express" can be purchased for 220 rubles.
- A set of 10 such tests will cost the buyer in 2000 rubles.
- Express test NADAL, produced by the German company Nal Von Minden can be bought for 2100 rubles( one copy).
You can purchase tests both in pharmacies and on relevant Internet resources.