right sided vs. left sided colon cancer

[kang0162]

---

Members don't see this ad.

hi.

Anyone have some explanation about this?
Why grow the right sided colon cancers. exophytic
(outwards to the wall) and the left sided colon Ca. circumferential?


Thanks!

 

[dragon529]

The cecum has the largest diameter so according to Laplace's Law the wall is thinnest there, so you can bleeding and iron deficiency instead of obstruction on the descending colon.

 

[ijn]

Yeah - the symptomatology has more to do with the anatomy. The diameter of the large colon decreases as you move from cecum to descending colon. Stool is basically liquid at the cecum and becomes harder as you travel distally. Therefore a cancer at the point of smallest diameter and hardest stool can cause the greatest alteration in stool appearance.

However you can still get obstruction from a right sided tumor. It just has to be much more advanced than an obstructive left sided tumor.

 

[Morsetlis]

I also remember that left = sporadic or FAP (FAP can be throughout) ; right = HNPCC