According to the Ohio Cancer Facts & Figures 2003, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in Ohio among both men and women.

Screening tests offer a powerful opportunity for the prevention, early detection, and successful treatment of colorectal cancers. According to statistics, only 44% of Americans aged 50 and older actually follow the American Cancer Society's recommended screening guidelines for colorectal cancer.

An estimated 105,500 colon and 42,000 rectal cancer cases are expected to occur nationally in 2003.

We conducted a study of colorectal cancer seen at Southeastern Med from 1992 through 2002. On the following pages you will see the results of the study. If you have any questions about the study, or about the Cancer Program here at Southeastern Med, please feel free to call Becky Wheeler, CTR in the Cancer Registry at 439-8156.

INCIDENCE

Between 1992 & 2002, we diagnosed 264 new colorectal cancer cases here at Southeastern Med. The graph below shows the number of cases by year.

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Statistics show that more than 90% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed in people over age 50. As you can see from the chart below, over 92% of the cases diagnosed at Southeastern Med from 1992 through 2002 were over age 50.

SEX DISTRIBUTION

Of the 264 cases of colorectal cancers diagnosed from 1992 through 2002, we found that 42.80% were male and 57.20% female. This is fairly consistent with the state average of 49% male and 51% female.

POSTAL CODE AT DIAGNOSIS

We wanted to evaluate the geographic area from which most of our colorectal cancer resided. The chart below shows that almost half live in Cambridge (43725) and the other half are scattered around the local area.

POSTAL CODE-CITY # CASES % SEORMC

STAGE AT DIAGNOSIS

The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system was used to classify the extent of the disease for the 264 cases diagnosed from 1992 through 2002. The study revealed that even though we continually educate the community about early detection, almost 20% were diagnosed in Stage IV (having metastasis).

AJCC STAGE # CASES % SEORMC

FIRST COURSE OF TREATMENT

We confirmed that the primary course of treatment for colorectal cancer at Southeastern Med is surgery, which is consistent with national statistics. Adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery was used to treat almost 27% of the patients. We found that most patients opted for some type of treatment modality.

FIRST COURSE OF TX # CASES % SEORMC

SURVIVAL RATE

The 1- and 5-year survival rates for patients with colon and rectum cancer are 83% and 62%, respectively. When colorectal cancers are detected at an early, localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 90%; however only approximately 20% of our colorectal cancers were discovered at that stage. After the cancer has spread regionally to involve adjacent organs or lymph nodes, the rate drops to 66%. The 5-year survival rate for persons with distant metastasis is 9%. Survival continues to decline beyond five years to a 55% relative survival rate 10 years after diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

Screening tests offer a powerful opportunity for the prevention, early detection, and successful treatment of colorectal cancers. Our Cancer Committee will continue with educational lectures, and offering screening tools to help detect colorectal cancer in the earliest and most treatable stages.