Cancer of heavy intestine: colo-rectal

The colon and the rectum comprise of the digestive system. The colon is the first section of heavy intestine. In him they are continued absorbing nutrients and water of them food s that has been ingested, as it happens in the thin intestine, and serves as container for the remainder material. This material is advancing until the rectum, last part of the heavy intestine, until it is expelled to the outside through anus.

The colo-rectal cancer consists of the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in completes part of the intestine, called by its greater diameter: heavy intestine. These cells can invade and destroy the weave that is around to his. If they penetrate in the sanguineous torrent or lymphatic, they can extend to any part of the organism and produce damages in other organs. To this process of expansion metástasis is denominated to him.

As much the colon as the rectum is formed by several weave layers. According to they are affected one or another layer, thus will be the prognosis of the cancer. The cancer that begins in the colon, denominates cancer of colon and the one that begins in the rectum, rectum cancer.

Of the tumors of colon in the dog a third is benign and the rest is malignant, adenocarcinomas are but the frequent ones, however in the cats almost all are malignant and linfosarcomas. Less frequent others neoplasias described in the consulted bibliography are: leiomioma/sarcoma, plasmocitoma to extramedular and fibrosarcoma.

One thinks that the colon cancer (mainly in the dog) evolves slowly before being diagnosed like so, before is developed a cancer usually appears injuries in the intestine of the dog like benign adenomatosos polyps and neoplasias pedunculadas of benign behavior but eye! they are precarcinomatosas injuries since many of these polyps can arrive to invade the rectal wall and to transform themselves finally into adenocarcinomas, with tendency to the metástasis to regional lymphatic ganglia, liver and lungs.

Symptoms:

1. Examination of hidden blood in lees: This test examines the fecal matter of the dog or cat in order to detect blood hides (hidden) in lees, very frequent data in the tumors of this type.
2. Digital examination of the rectum
3. Simple x-ray
4. X-ray of resistance: Procedure in which it is introduced in the rectum, through
   anus, a liquid that contains barium. The barium is a metallic compound of silverplate-whitish color that helps to show the image of tracto gastrointestinal inferior in a x-ray.
5. Sigmoidoscopia: Examination in which a doctor uses sigmoidoscopio (
   thin instrument illuminated) to visualize the interior of tracto inferior of the heavy intestine and the rectum in order to detect abnormal polyps, tumors or areas.
6. Colonoscopía: Examination of the interior of the colon and the rectum with colonoscopio (
   illuminated thin instrument) that is inserted in the rectum. If during the procedure, the doctor visualizes a polyp or another abnormal weave can extract it and soon to examine under the microscope.
7. Biopsy: Extraction of cells or weave to be analyzed under the microscope. When a sample of the weave is only extracted, the procedure is called incisional biopsy or central biopsy. When all the tumor or injury is extracted, the procedure is called excisional biopsy. When a liquid or weave sample is extracted with a needle, the procedure is called biopsy with needle or aspiration with fine needle.