Six hundred Friesians are diagnosed with colon cancer every year, and this number is growing

However, as with other population studies, the percentage of people participating in colon cancer studies is decreasing. To be precise: from 71% in 2021 to 68% in 2022 (the 2023 figure is not yet known). “This may not seem like a lot, but if this happens year after year, it matters to thousands of people,” says Joeri Douma, MD, an internal oncologist at MCL.

Educating people about the importance of participating is one of the goals of the annual Bowel Cancer Month, which began on March 1.

The decline in the number of participants has become a trend in recent years. This will be followed by extensive research by RIVM, but previous research shows that part of the target group has not been adequately reached. It often concerns people with low income, low education and/or with a migration background. Douma: “It is often people who are most at risk.” Defects can also play a role. For example, a population survey does not provide 100 percent certainty and the results may worry participants.

4500 deaths annually

Colon cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Twelve thousand people are diagnosed nationwide each year and 4,500 people die each year from the consequences of this disease. It is not known how many there are in Friesland.

Duma explains that cancer develops gradually and often begins in the form of polyps that can become malignant. “When we started population surveys in 2014, the number of diagnoses rose dramatically. That's because we found colon cancer at all kinds of stages, including early stages, where people didn't have any complaints yet.” In people whose polyps were discovered, they could be removed and colon cancer could no longer develop from them. Now the number of patients is decreasing because people with benign tumors have been “filtered out” during examinations.

Immunotherapy

The biggest advance in cancer treatment in recent decades is immunotherapy, a treatment that uses the body's own immune system. This is one of the topics that Duma will talk about during a symposium on March 4 at the Media Center. “It can give very beautiful results, without many side effects. Unfortunately, it is only effective in a limited number of patients with (rectal) cancer.”

Another development is the growing interest in colon cancer prehabilitation, the principle that patients enter their procedure in a fitter state with the help of guidance. Douma: “We make people exercise more in advance so that they are fitter for treatment and recover better after the operation.”