Colorectal cancer
cancer of the colon or rectum
Colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, intestinal cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine), characterized by the uncontrolled growth of colon cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel movements, weight loss, abdominal pain, and fatigue. Most colorectal cancers are due to lifestyle factors and genetic disorders. Risk factors include diet, obesity, smoking, and lack of physical activity. Dietary factors that increase the risk include red meat, processed meat, and alcohol. Another risk factor is inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Some of the inherited genetic disorders that can cause colorectal cancer include familial adenomatous polyposis and hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer; however, these represent less than 5% of cases. It typically starts as a benign tumor, often in the form of a polyp, which over time becomes cancerous.
Colorectal cancer may be diagnosed by obtaining a sample of the colon during a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. This is then followed by medical imaging to determine whether the cancer has spread beyond the colon or is in situ.
The public source identifies “Colorectal cancer” as cancer of the colon or rectum. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Colorectal, cancer and colon.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Colorectal cancer”, the useful work is to connect “cancer of the colon or rectum” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q188874. The Library of Congress control number is sh90003388. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Colorectal cancer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.