Differences in Colon Adenomas and Carcinomas Among Women and Men
Potential Clinical Implications
- Hemant K. Roy, MD;
- Laura K. Bianchi, MD
- Author Affiliations: Department of Internal Medicine, NorthShore University HealthSystems, Evanston, Illinois, and University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- ADENOMA
- CARCINOGENICITY TESTS
- COLONIC NEOPLASMS
- COLONOSCOPY
- COLORECTAL NEOPLASMS
- MEN'S HEALTH
- RISK FACTORS
- WOMEN'S HEALTH
Colorectal cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer deaths among women and men in the United States, underscoring the need for more effective preventive strategies for both sexes. Many promising approaches are based on the adenoma-carcinoma paradigm of colon carcinogenesis. The clinical corollary to this model is that the presence of adenomas represents a robust marker of colon carcinogenesis. This leads to 2 distinct applications for colorectal cancer prevention: target for intervention and risk marker. Indeed, removing adenomas through colonoscopy has been shown to decrease future colorectal cancer occurrence by 75% to 90%. From a screening perspective, the colonoscopic adenoma identification is used clinically to gauge long-term risk and dictate the frequency of future colorectal cancer screening.
Most data suggest that the effect of colorectal cancer is approximately equivalent in both sexes. In 2009, an estimated 71 380 women and 75 590 men will develop colorectal cancer.1 This is consistent …
