Colon cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in both sexes. In Spain, 9,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed each year, and of these, around 2,200 are diagnosed in Catalonia. Most colon cancers, 65-85%, are sporadic, 10-30% are family aggregates (cancers that accumulate in a family for various reasons, such as sharing the same lifestyle, environmental exposures, etc.), and 5-10% are hereditary predispositions.

The risk factors for developing colon cancer are:

• Age: most colon cancers are diagnosed after the age of 50.
• Diet and exercise: diets high in fat and low levels of exercise promote the development of colorectal cancers.
• Personal history: a personal history of polyps increases the risk of colon cancer.
• Family history or genetic factors: People with relatives diagnosed with colorectal cancer or relatives diagnosed with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) or hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) have an elevated risk of developing cancer.