Adenocarcinoma: know the risks of bowel cancer that affects Preta Gil

THE adenocarcinoma is a malignant tumor that can affect several segments of the digestive tract, including the final part of the intestine as in the case of the singer Black Gil .

In Brazil, the bowel cancer , also called colon cancer, is the third most common cancer in the population, according to the National Cancer Institute (Inca). There are approximately 40,000 new cases diagnosed per year, among men and women. Of this total, about 30% occur due to behavioral factors, such as poor diet, smoking and physical inactivity.

According to Inca, if this trend is maintained, the estimate is that by 2030 the number of cases will increase three times in men and almost three in women. However, almost 30% in all tumors in intestine dustinm be avoided with healthy eating, practical in activityins physical and abandonment in alcoholic beverages.

The disease also affected King Pelé and former Vasco player Roberto Dinamite.

The digestive tract surgeon Rodrigo Barbosa, from São Paulo, explains that cancer can appear as polyps (tissue growth in the intestine) and evolve into adenocarcinoma. “As in the initial phase it does not usually show symptoms, it is important to carry out a routine colonoscopy to identify it early on”, warns the doctor.

Symptoms

According to Inca, the symptoms most often associated with bowel cancer are: blood in the stool, changes in bowel habits, such as alternating diarrhea and constipation, abdominal pain or discomfort.

Patients may also present weakness and anemia, weight loss without apparent cause and change in the shape of the stool (very thin and long) and abdominal tumor.

The Inca clarifies that these manifestations are also present in other health problems, such as hemorrhoids, verminosis and gastric ulcer, for example. Therefore, the symptoms must be investigated for the correct diagnosis and specific treatment.

Risk factors

The main factors related to a higher risk of developing bowel cancer are: age equal to or above 50 years, excess body weight and unhealthy diet, low in fruits, vegetables and other foods that contain fiber.

Consumption of processed meats (sausage, mortadella, sausage, ham, bacon, turkey breast and salami) and excessive intake of red meat (above 500 grams of cooked meat per week) also increase the risk for this type of cancer.

Other factors related to a greater chance of developing the disease are: family history of bowel cancer, having had bowel, ovarian, uterine or breast cancer, as well as smoking and alcohol consumption.

Inflammatory bowel diseases such as chronic ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease also increase the risk of bowel cancer, as well as inherited diseases such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). There are also patients who have Lynch Syndrome, resulting from a genetic alteration that increases the risk of developing tumors in the colon and rectum.

Occupational exposure to ionizing radiation, such as X-rays and gamma rays, may increase the risk of colon cancer.

Diagnosis

Early detection can be done through investigation with clinical, laboratory, endoscopic or radiological examinations, of people with signs and symptoms suggestive of the disease (early diagnosis) or of people without signs or symptoms (screening), but belonging to groups with greater chance of having the disease.

Colon and rectal (colorectal) tumors can be screened using two main tests: fecal occult blood tests and endoscopies (colonoscopy or rectosigmoidoscopy).

“In the colonoscopy examination, it is already possible to remove the lesions and, in more advanced cases, surgery and chemotherapy may be necessary and, if the rectum is affected, surgery and radiotherapy are necessary – everything depends on each case”, says the specialist.

Treatment

Bowel cancer is a treatable and often curable disease. Surgery is the initial treatment, removing the affected part of the intestine and the lymph nodes, structures that are part of the body’s defense system, inside the abdomen.

Other stages of treatment include radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy, to reduce the possibility of tumor recurrence.

Treatment mainly depends on the size, location and extent of the tumor. When the disease is widespread, with metastases to the liver, lung or other organs, the chances of cure are reduced.

Most of these tumors start from polyps, benign lesions that can grow on the inner wall of the large intestine.

Prevention

According to the National Cancer Institute (Inca), bowel cancer is strongly associated with lifestyle habits, such as smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity.

The incidence of the disease has been increasing in recent years and, at the same time, it is observed that the population is increasingly exposed to risk factors and less exposed to protective factors, which would be healthier lifestyle habits.

The maintenance of adequate body weight, the practice of physical activity, as well as a healthy diet are essential for the prevention of bowel cancer.

A healthy diet consists mainly of fresh and minimally processed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and other legumes, grains and seeds (see below ).

How to increase fiber intake in your diet

Fiber-rich foods are important in cancer prevention, mainly because they regulate the functioning of the intestine, reducing the contact time of substances that cause cancer with the intestinal walls. The daily fiber recommendation for a healthy adult is 25g to 30g, according to Inca.

That’s at least five servings of non-starchy fruits and vegetables, such as greens, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower, beets, chayote, okra and zucchini. Each portion is equivalent to an amount that fits in the palm of your hand, of the chopped or whole product.

It is also recommended to consume at least three servings of whole grains a day. One serving is equivalent, for example, to 1/2 cup of oat flour, or 1/2 cup of brown rice.

Most breakfast cereals and industrialized cereal bars are ultra-processed foods, and therefore do not fall under this recommendation and should be avoided.