The cause of colorectal cancer isn’t exactly known. But there are some factors or conditions which can lead to the development of cancer, which are:
- Age (Most common for people older than 50)
- Race (Mostly found in African-American race)
- Diet high in fat
- Polyps in colon
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Family history of colon cancer
- Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP)
The most common system used for staging lung cancer is the TNM system.
T stands for Tumour. It is used to describe the size of the tumour. It also helps to determine whether the tumour has grown into other parts of the organ or tissues around the organ. It is represented by a range of 1 to 4. The higher the number means the larger the tumour.
N stands for Lymph Nodes. It helps determine if cancer has spread to the lymph nodes around the organ. NX means the impact on lymph nodes cannot be determined. N0 means cancer hasn’t spread to nearby lymph nodes while N1, N2, and N3 means cancer has spread to lymph nodes. N1 to N3 also shows the range that how many lymph nodes are affected.
M stands for Metastasis. It is used to determine if cancer has spread to other parts of the body through blood or lymphatic system. MX means the metastasis cannot be determined; M0 means cancer has not spread to other body parts while M1 indicates that it has spread to other body parts.
Sometimes lowercase letters like a, b and c are used to divide the tumour, lymph nodes, and metastasis into subcategories. Also lowercase “is” is used to denote carcinoma in situ. E.g. Tis