UCSD is at the forefront in state-of-the-art colorectal cancer treatment, including an innovative use of heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy for colon cancer – available only at a handful of leading U.S. cancer centers – and expertise with the highly effective da Vinci robot, used only at UCSD for minimally invasive rectal surgery.

Colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, is a term for cancer that develops in the colon or rectum.  Cancers in these two portions of the digestive system have features in common, but are usually treated differently. According to the National Cancer Institute, most large bowel/colon cancers are adenocarcinomas that begin in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids. Rectum cancers form in the last several inches of the large intestine, before the anus.

Colorectal cancers usually develop slowly over a period of several years, commonly appearing first as a non-cancerous polyp – a fleshy growth inside the colon or rectum.  Over years, these benign polyps can become cancerous.  And, some patients with chronic ulcerative colitis (which causes inflammation of the inner lining of the colon) develop colon cancer, often depending upon the location and extent of the patient’s disease. 

The American Cancer Society notes that the five-year survival rate for those treated in early stage colorectal cancer, before it has spread, is greater than 90%.  However, only 39% of these cancers are found at that early stage.

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