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Chronic constipation increases incidence of colorectal cancer in general population

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Posted 1/16/2016 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
I hope you can read this link without signing up. It's from a very reputable source: Gastroenterology and Endoscopy News. Cutting to the chase: patients reporting chronic constipation to their doctors have a 5-fold increase in all GI cancers incidence and a 6-fold increase in colorectal cancer.

The authors make the point that chronic constipation is not one of the guidelines for screening (but it seems it should be).

gastroendonews.com/In-the-News/Article/01-16/Chronic-Constipation-Linked-to-Dramatic-Hike-in-CRC-Risk/34869?ses=ogst

Before UC diagnosis I was in the chronic constipation category but never saw a doctor for it or even treated it with OTC meds, it seemed normal. Now I'm in UC remission and constipation is probably my biggest issue and I have to be vigilant. Spinach is my best friend because caffeine does not work the way it does for "normal" people. High fiber foods also don't work for me, seem to increase the C not help. Potatoes do help, yay.

Not trying to add to anyone's worries, just thought it was an interesting article.

Post Edited (imagardener2) : 1/17/2016 8:44:24 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/16/2016 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
Any ideas why this may be so?

I guess junk food with all its additives etc. remain in contact with colon cells longer rather than a quick exit out. Or even relatively good food but too many pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids that encourage abnormal cell growth. At any rate it probably is a good idea that once stools become formed they should exit the colon ASAP.
Posted 1/16/2016 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
Aice22asked:Can you eat melon - canteloupe or honeydew? That seems to get things moving.

Fruit causes IBS which does get things moving but not in a way I'd prefer, more like "everybody out of the pool" multiple BM's. So when I eat fruit it's usually at home when nothing is planned haha.

CMate
No ideas on why chronic constipation is linked to cancer and since this is a new idea for medicine it may be some time before we get possible answers. Correlation of course does not equal causation but something for UC'ers to watch out for.
Posted 1/17/2016 3:13 PM (GMT 0)
This is an interesting correlation, but the study didn't cast a very broad net, as it only included those who discussed their chronic constipation with their doctor.
- people who made at least two outpatient visits, more than a month apart, with a billing code for constipation
- also people who had more than one outpatient encounter with the clinical code of constipation in the clinical notes.


Lawrence Schiller, MD, interim chief of gastroenterology at Baylor University Medical Center, in Dallas, noted that the research has the sort of limitations inherent in observational case-control studies. “The conclusions are based on patients who sought care. People seeking care for constipation might include those whose symptoms are due to other problems and who were discovered, on investigation, to have the other problem,” Dr. Schiller said. “Compared to a control group without bowel symptoms who are not being investigated, these patients will have more diagnoses made.”
Posted 1/17/2016 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
I know one anecdotal account is essentially meaningless, but I found this correlation interesting. My mother had a ruptured appendix at age 8 (pre-antibiotics, so major peritonitis.) She formed adhesions from that, then later from a hysterectomy.

She had severe constipation all her life. Today, she would be diagnosed with IBS-C, I'm sure.

At age 65 she was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the transverse colon, and had a colon resection followed by chemo. She died in 1987 from the colon cancer.
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