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The gastrointestinal system is made up of the esophagus, stomach, the small and large intestines, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, rectum and anus. The last six feet of the large intestines is called the colon and the last six inches of the colon is the rectum. The majority of gastrointestinal cancers are in the colon and rectum, and may be referred to as colorectal cancer.

Gastrointestinal cancer can start in any of four sections of the colon or in the rectum. The wall of each of these sections and rectum has several layers of tissues. Cancer starts in the inner layer and can grow through some or all of the other layers. Knowing a little about these layers is helpful because the stage of a cancer depends on which of these layers it affects.

Cancer that starts in the different areas may cause different symptoms. In most cases, colon and rectum cancers develop slowly over a period of several years. We now know that most of these cancers begin as a polyp, which is a growth of tissue into the center of the colon or rectum. A type of polyp known as adenoma can become cancerous. Removing the polyp early may prevent it from becoming cancer.

Over 95 percent of colon and rectal cancers are adenocarcinomas. These are cancers of the cells that line the inside of the colon and rectum.

Jonathan Salo, MD, leads the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program, and coordinates treatment for the majority of patients with colorectal cancer. To help patients with gastrointestinal cancer, Blumenthal Cancer Center has assembled a multi-disciplinary team of experts who meet weekly to discuss treatment options.

Evaluation And Treatment
If colorectal cancer is detected and diagnosed early, there is a high probability of a complete cure. Symptoms of colorectal cancer include rectal bleeding, pain, blood in the stool and a change in bowel habits. The best chance a patient has to be cured of colorectal cancer is to be diagnosed before symptoms occur. Screening for colorectal cancer beginning at the age of 50 often results in the early detection of the cancer.

Surgery is the most common form of treatment for colorectal cancer, and for cancers that have not spread, it can be a curative treatment. Chemotherapy or chemotherapy and radiation therapy given before or after surgery increases the possibility of curing the cancer when the cancer has deeply perforated the colon wall or if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or beyond.

Some patients may participate in research protocols.