ABSTRACT
Chronic radiation proctitis represents a challenging condition seen with increased frequency due to the common use of radiation for treatment of pelvic cancer. Hemorrhagic radiation proctitis represents the most feared complication of chronic radiation proctitis. There is no consensus for the management of this condition despite the great number of clinical approaches and techniques that have been employed. Rectal resection represents an available option although associated with high morbidity and risk of permanent colostomy. The effectiveness of nonoperative approaches remains far from desirable, and hemorrhagic recurrence represents a major drawback that leads to a need for consecutive therapeutic sessions and combination of techniques. We conducted a critical review of published reports regarding conservative management of hemorrhagic chronic radiation proctitis. Although prospective randomized trials about hemorrhagic radiation proctitis are still lacking, there is enough evidence to conclude that topical formalin therapy and an endoscopic approach delivering an argon plasma coagulation represent available options associated with elevated effectiveness for interruption of rectal bleeding in patients with chronic radiation proctitis
Subject(s)
Humans , Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/therapy , Proctitis/therapy , Radiation Injuries/therapy , Chronic Disease , Clinical Trials as Topic , Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/etiology , Proctitis/complications , Radiation Injuries/complicationsABSTRACT
O câncer colorretal ainda é uma das neoplasias de maior importância no mundo ocidental. O grande desenvolvimento da genética e biologia molecular nos últimos anos permitiu um melhor conhecimento dos mecanismos biomoleculares no câncer, e em especial, no câncer colorretal. Oncogenes (K-ras), genes supressores de tumor (p53, DCC e APC) e genes reparadores de DNA (hMSH2, MLH1, PMS1 e 2) estäo envolvidos na progressäo da seqüência adenoma-carcinoma no cólon e no reto. Algumas características anatômicas, histopatológicas, epidemiológicas e o comportamento biológico dos tumores parecem estar relacionados com alteraçöes genéticas específicas nestes genes. O conhecimento dos mecanismos genéticos que promovem a carcinogênese dos tumores colorretais abre novas perspectivas para o diagnóstico, tratamento, prognóstico e seguimento dos pacientes acometidos por esta neoplasia