Colorectal Cancer

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is 120 new cases per 100,000 population, being the first among all kinds of cancer in Japan. CRC is associated with so-called western lifestyle habits and diet as well as obesity and genetic factors. Symptoms of CRC include bloody stool, altered bowel habits, abdominal pain, anemia, and body weight loss. Colonoscopy is the best examination to find and diagnose CRC. Its treatment depends on local invasion depth, lymph node involvement, and presence of distant metastases. These factors are combined into an overall stage definition of UICC classification, which provides the basis for treatment decisions. The treatment of CRC includes endoscopy, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and palliative care. The UICC classification provides valuable prognostic information, and the measured 5-year survival rates of CRC are 83% in Stage I, 76% in Stage II, 68% in Stage III, and 19% in Stage IV. Because more than 60% of patients with CRC survive more than 5 years, many CRC survivors are still living and working in the world. This section provides important information on how to live and work during and after treatment, with follow-up examinations, adjuvant chemotherapy, low anterior resection syndrome, permanent stoma, therapeutic chemotherapy, and palliative care.