Premium
Cancer of the colon and rectum and adenomatous polyps: A review of epidemiologic findings
Author(s) -
Haenszel William,
Correa Pelayo
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(197107)28:1<14::aid-cncr2820280105>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - medicine , colorectal cancer , adenomatous polyps , rectum , ascending colon , cancer , cecum , incidence (geometry) , gastroenterology , population , disease , descending colon , risk factor , gynecology , colonoscopy , environmental health , physics , optics
The epidemiologic findings for intestinal cancer are reviewed and a model that may fit most of the facts is proposed for further testing. The major features of the model for colon cancer are: a. In low‐risk populations where the disease is “endemic,” colon cancers are concentrated in the cecum and ascending colon, female cases are preponderant, and most of the rise to the maximum incidence level has occurred by age 50–55; b. When a new etiologic factor is introduced into such a population, the transition from an “endemic” to an “epidemic” phase is first expressed as a rise in sigmoid cancers among older men over 55 years; c. A rise in female sigmoid cancers follows later, and the time lag is reinforced by a tendency for these female cases to appear at somewhat older ages than the male cases. Some tests of the model and implications for studies of suspect precursor lesions such as adenomatous polyps are indicated. In the latter connection, the need for comparative studies among populations subject to widely differing colon cancer risks is emphasized.