What causes colon cancer

Are you trying to find out what causes colon cancer? You will be interested to know that a lot of research has gone to this subject. They haven’t come up with any one thing that can cause colon cancer, but they have identified several things that they think can cause it. Colon cancer is common in America. By the age of 50, one in four people will have developed polyps in the colon. These polyps may or may not turn into cancer. Doctor Otto Warburg, a Nobel prize winner in the first half of the twentieth century, believed that a low level of oxygen in the colon is the primary cause of colon cancer and that the presence of polyps in the colon may be a secondary cause.

There are various risk factors that can increase your chances for developing colon cancer. Genetics may be a major factor in what causes colon cancer. They have discovered that about 25% of all colon cancer patients have some kind of genetic link to this disease. Mutations leading to familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) are two examples of genetic links to colon cancer. Colon cancer has been found in many members of the same family. Ethnicity and race may play a role in what causes colon cancer as well. Colon cancer is found more in some races and ethnicities than in others. Ethnicity and race can be linked back to genetic causes as well.

Some researchers believe the environment a person lives in can be what causes colon cancer. The persons occupation may expose then to toxins and where they live can cause them to be exposed to certain chemicals and toxins in the environment as well. Living in an area where you are exposed to cigarette smoke may also be a cause for developing all kinds of cancers, including colon cancer.

The largest intestine in the body is the colon. The colon eliminates solid food waste, water and salt from body. This waste material moves through the colon and out the body. The colon needs oxygen to keep and maintain healthy cells. Cancer cells do not need as much oxygen to thrive as healthy cells do. Regular exercise can help increase oxygen in the body. This leads some researches to believe that the lack of exercise can be what causes colon cancer for some people.

Colon cancer is the result of cells in the colon that grow uncontrolled in the colon. These cells that begin to grow uncontrollable have been found to have mutations in the DNA. Some researchers believe that people can be born with a genetic disposition for colon cancer. At least 20% of colon cancers are thought to be caused by defects in the DNA that a person is born with.

Aging is another risk factor for colon cancer and may be the cause of it. 90% of the people diagnosed with colon cancer in the United States are over the age of 50. Obesity and poor diet can also be a causative factor in colon cancer. Eating a diet high in saturated fats, red meats and low in fiber can lead to colon cancer. People who abuse alcohol are more at risk for developing colon cancer as well. Some symptoms of colon cancer are diarrhea, constipation, narrowing stools, any changes in stools, rectal bleeding, cramps, pain and gas in the lower abdomen, feeling continual urges for bowel movement, weight loss and fatigue. The answer to the question ‘what causes colon cancer’ is that there may be many causes which depend on various risk factors. There has been no single cause that has been determined yet.

Last updated on Jun 23rd, 2011 and filed under Cancer Research. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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