With the rising trend of colorectal cancer turning into a cause for concern, doctors raised the need for screening to identify and treat the cancer early.
Colorectal (bowel) cancer is cancer arising from the large intestine. Depending on the location in the large bowel, it can be either colon cancer or rectal cancer. It usually affects persons aged 50 and above. But one concern is that in India, around one-third of these cancers affect persons aged 40 to 50. Men are affected more than women, according to a press release.
K.R. Palaniswamy, president, Tamil Nadu Gastroenterologist Trust and senior consultant, gastroenterology, Apollo Hospitals, said awareness on colon cancer was low. “It is treatable, and it is important to diagnose it early,” he said, adding: “We need to promote screening for early diagnosis.” He said in the U.S., colonoscopy was compulsory for persons after the age of 45.
The trust, along with Apollo Hospitals, is organising ‘Colon Cancer Symposium 2025’ on Saturday (March 22, 2025). In India, one in 10,000 persons develop bowel cancer. However, two out of three persons diagnosed with this cancer die in the same year due to late diagnosis, the release said.
Summarising the findings of a colorectal study done by the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, Tamil Nadu Chapter, during 2021-22, Ubal Dhus, senior consultant, gastroenterology, Apollo Hospitals, said 1,200 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer from 23 centres — both government and private hospitals — across the State were assessed.
On the risk factors, he said one-fourth of them were smokers, one-third consumed alcohol, and one-third were obese; obesity poses a higher risk of colorectal cancer. “Colorectal cancer is considered a cancer of the affluent society. But this is not true. Two-thirds of them belonged to the lower socio-economic group. They had no access to screening and treatment,” Dr. Dhus said.
He had earlier said there was a rising trend of colorectal cancer in the last decade. There has been a 20% increase across the country, he added.
N. Thirumoorthi, lead medical gastroenterologist, Cancer Institute, said: “A simple stool test can pick up colon cancer early. If the stool test is positive, a colonoscopy can be done.” Invisible blood in the stool can be identified through the test (faecal occult blood screening), he added.
P. Basumani, consultant, Apollo Hospitals, said colon cancer was the fourth common cancer in India. It was 95% curable if diagnosed early. Elaborating about colonoscopy, Karthik Natarajan of Apollo Hospitals, said it helped detect abnormalities such as polyps, cancer, and inflammation. “Artificial intelligence (AI) has made its way into colonoscopy as well. We have integrated an AI system in colonoscopy to detect polyps that are not invisible to the naked eyes,” he said.
Suneeta Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group, stressed the need for good preventive healthcare protocols. Shyam Varadarajulu, president, Orlando Health Digestive Health Institute, and Mo Thoufeeq, consultant Gastroenterologist, University of Sheffield, U.K., spoke.
Published – March 21, 2025 09:48 pm IST
