Sigmoid colon mass

Sigmoid colon masses are very common in daily life. Not only will they cause great harm to the patient's physical health, but they will also seriously affect their normal life and work. Therefore, it is particularly important to have a certain understanding of this disease. A mass in the sigmoid colon may be a symptom of colon cancer, which is mainly related to the patient's own eating habits. A low-fiber, high-fat diet is the biggest cause.

1. A mass in the sigmoid colon may be colon cancer

The incidence of colon cancer is mainly related to a high-fat and low-fiber diet. Chronic inflammation of the colon makes the incidence of colorectal cancer higher than that of the general population. The incidence of colon cancer in people with colon polyps is 5 times that of people without colon polyps. Familial multiple intestinal polyposis has a higher incidence of cancer. Genetic factors may also be involved in the development of colon cancer.

2. Clinical manifestations

There may be no symptoms in the early stage, but in the middle and late stages, there may be abdominal distension and indigestion, followed by changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain, and mucus or blood in the stool. After the tumor ulcerates, blood is lost, and toxins are absorbed, symptoms such as anemia, low fever, fatigue, weight loss, and lower limb edema often appear. If abdominal distension, abdominal pain, constipation or inability to defecate occurs, physical examination reveals a distended abdomen, intestinal shape, local tenderness, and bowel sounds are heard on auscultation, these symptoms may indicate incomplete or complete intestinal obstruction. If the tumor infiltrates and adheres to the omentum and surrounding tissues, an irregular mass will be formed. In the late stage, there may be signs of liver and lung metastasis such as jaundice, peritoneal effusion, edema, cachexia, supraclavicular lymph node enlargement and other manifestations of distant spread and metastasis of the tumor. The clinical manifestations of colon cancer vary depending on the location of the cancer, as described below:

1. Right colon cancer

The right colon cavity is large, the stool is liquid, the tumors are mostly ulcerative or cauliflower-shaped, rarely form annular stenosis, and obstruction does not often occur. If the tumor ruptures and bleeds, secondary infection occurs, and toxins are absorbed, there may be abdominal pain, changes in stool, abdominal mass, anemia, weight loss, or cachexia.

2. Left colon cancer

The left colon has a narrow lumen and the stool is dry and hard. Left-sided colon cancer is often invasive and can easily cause annular stenosis, mainly manifesting as acute or chronic intestinal obstruction. The mass is small in size, with neither ulceration nor bleeding, nor toxin absorption. Symptoms such as anemia, weight loss, and cachexia are rare, and the mass is difficult to palpate. Colon cancer often metastasizes to organs, and distant metastases mainly occur in the liver. Lymph node metastasis generally spreads from near to far, but there is also non-sequential cross-metastasis. The chance of lymph node metastasis is higher after the cancer invades the muscular layer of the intestinal wall. Colon cancer cells or cancer emboli can also be transferred through the blood, first to the liver and then to other tissues and organs such as the lungs, brain, and bones. Colon cancer can also directly infiltrate surrounding tissues and organs, fall off in the intestinal cavity, and implant on mucosa elsewhere. If the disease spreads to the entire abdomen, it may cause cancerous peritonitis and ascites.