STAGES of Rectal Cancer
Understanding Rectal cancer staging is very important in creating your treatment plan and understanding your possible outcomes. Cancer here remain within the rectal wall for a long time but once it spread beyound the rectal wall
The diagram below is a schematic representation of the stages of the rectal cancer.
Stage 0: At this stage a growth from the mucosa lining of the rectum called polyps as shown in fig9.0A, this could be non-cancerous or cancerous. This could be remove during an endoscopy.
Stage I: Cancerous polyps becomes a tumor which has invaded the vessel-submucosa layer of the rectal wall.
Stage II: Tumor penetrates beyond the rectal wall, the mesorectum but not the lymph nodes.
Stage III: Similar to stage II but includes the lymph nodes as the small blue arrow indicates.
Stage IV: Convincing evidence existence in other parts of body mainly to the Brain, lungs, Liver, Bone and to structures around the rectum as in fig5.0A and B. Fig7.0 is a showing a lymphatic spread of stage IV rectal cancer.
The diagram below is a schematic representation of the stages of the rectal cancer.
Stage 0: At this stage a growth from the mucosa lining of the rectum called polyps as shown in fig9.0A, this could be non-cancerous or cancerous. This could be remove during an endoscopy.
Stage I: Cancerous polyps becomes a tumor which has invaded the vessel-submucosa layer of the rectal wall.
Stage II: Tumor penetrates beyond the rectal wall, the mesorectum but not the lymph nodes.
Stage III: Similar to stage II but includes the lymph nodes as the small blue arrow indicates.
Stage IV: Convincing evidence existence in other parts of body mainly to the Brain, lungs, Liver, Bone and to structures around the rectum as in fig5.0A and B. Fig7.0 is a showing a lymphatic spread of stage IV rectal cancer.
Types of Rectal Cancer
The types of cancer cells are not the most important issue to the surgeon but it is also important. As cancer cell types then to easily invade tissues that have similar cellular component. There are 3 major types of Rectal Cancer classified base on the cell origin, they are:
- Adenocarcinomas: This is the most common type of Rectal Cancer (about 95% of all Rectal Cancer), developing from the mucus-producing glandular cells. These cells when normal produce lubricating substances that easy the bowl movement. This is of various types with about 2 rare forms like 1 out of 100 cases: Mucinous and Signet Ring tumors. these two are named base on their appearance under a microscope
fig8.0 Copyright@2013 Radiological Society of North America
The arrow is pointing to a Signet Ring tumor cell, showing mucus pushing the cell nucleus to one side thus gives the cell a signet ring shape under the microscope
Mucinous tumours case where cancer cells are pool in mucus
Fig8.1 copyright@©2003-2011 WebPathology.com All rights reserved Dharam M. Ramnani, M.D.
- Carcinoid tumors: also called neuroendocrine tumor (NET) because it forms within Hormone producing cells usually in the intestine but they are very rare as Mucinou and Signet Ring tumor.
- Lymphomas: This type can develop not just in the rectum but anywhere in the body. This is an immune diseases that typically occur in the lymphatic system.
Other types of rectal cancer include Squamous cell cancers which originates within rectal mucosa layer. Another common is Sarcomas originating within supporting tissues of the body in this case within smooth muscle tissue (Leiomyosarcoms).