Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequently occurring malignancies which associates increasing mortality and morbidity rates. According to data provided by the World Health Organization, colorectal cancer deaths account for approximately 13% of all cancer fatalities. The carcinogenesis of this type of malignancy is a very complex process characterized by various molecular changes which in turn are influenced by factors likes sex, diet, intestinal microbiota, exposure to environmental factors, hosts' immune response and also genetic factors. Our study looked at a total number of 1024 patients, which were all diagnosed with colorectal cancer in a hospital in the north of England, a country that is known for both a high prevalence of this type of cancer but also its robust screening programmers. In our analyses, we concluded that this type of malignancies affected mostly males, aged between 60 and 80. The most commonly affected regions were the rectum, the sigmoid colon and also the cecum. The majority of colorectal cancers (51%) were diagnosed by GPs (general practitioners) or other medical specialties; 43.55% of all cases presented as surgical emergencies and 5.47% were diagnosed through national screening programs. Majority of tumors were diagnosed in late stages, mainly T3 and T4 whilst in was observed that rectal cancers were mainly diagnosed in T2 and T3 stages.
Keywords: Colorectal cancer; anatomical location; diet; risk factors; staging.
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