RESUMO
Throughout the years, colorectal cancer has steadily become a global health problem. While other types of cancers have seen a decline in cases because of screening and vaccination programs, colorectal cancer has risen become the third most diagnosed cancer worldwide and, more worryingly, the second leading cancer-related cause of death. The introduction of targeted therapy has been widely considered a major paradigm shift in the treatment of colorectal cancer, which agents such as bevacizumab and cetuximab quickly becoming mainstay options in the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic disease. However, this type of treatment has also shown its limitations, with limited or no benefit for a large portion of the patients. With more and more knowledge being gathered on the molecular mechanisms which govern the malignant phenotype presented by colorectal cancer, scientists are engaged in a continuous effort to develop new therapies based on these discoveries.
RESUMO
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered a major global health concern due to an increasing number of new cases and cancer-related deaths each year, strong link to dietary habits prevalent in middle and high-income countries and limited therapeutic options especially in locally-advanced and metastatic settings. To counter this growing problem, the scientific community has strived to underpin the major molecular mechanisms behind the aggressive phenotype displayed by CRC and also develop new agents to selectively target and inhibit these core drivers. This evolution has allowed the separation of patients according to different risk groups in concordance with epidemiological parameters alongside novel biomarkers such as gene alterations, protein overexpression and aberrant signaling pathways. In this study we included 20 patients who underwent colonoscopy and were later received histopathologic confirmation of CRC. The statistical anamnestic data obtained from the patients (age, gender, home distribution, signs and symptoms) was corroborated with the results obtained from the histopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis of the samples obtained via colonoscopy. The average age was 63.8 years, the male: female ratio was 2.33 and the origin of 2/3 of the patients was urban and the most encountered symptoms were transit disorders (75%). In terms of colonoscopy results, the majority of tumors were found on the rectum (85%), 90% of tumors were adenocarcinomas, having a vegetant aspect in 60% of the cases and a moderate degree of differentiation in 50% of situations.
