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Gastrointestinal Oncology

Gastrointestinal oncology describes the field of medicine concerned with the study and treatment of cancers of the gastrointestinal (GI) or digestive system. According to the National Cancer Institute, tumors may originate in a number of organs and tissues along the GI tract, including: esophagus, stomach, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, colon, appendix, rectum and anus. While the disease course and prognosis for each of these cancers is different, they do share many common elements.

  1. Risk Factors

    • Though there are no definitive causes of digestive system cancers, there are a number of factors that will increase a person's risk of developing them. According to the National Cancer Institute, some risk factors are common to all GI cancers, including: smoking, heavy drinking, obesity, lack of exercise and poor diet. Other risk factors may affect an individual's risk only to certain types of GI cancers, such as hepatitis infection increases the risk of liver cancer and diabetes raises the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

    Symptoms

    • There are a number of symptoms that are shared among the GI cancers, including: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, unexplained weight loss, vomiting blood and having blood in the stool. Fatigue, weakness and jaundice also are commonly reported in individuals who have cancers of the liver and pancreas, according to the National Cancer Institute.

    Treatments

    • As with most types of cancer, there are three general treatment options: surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Surgery involves removal of the tumor and some surrounding tissue; in some cases, it may be necessary to remove large parts of the organ, such as the liver or colon. In the case of liver cancer, a liver transplant may be an option if a patient is healthy enough and a suitable donor can be found. Chemotherapy is the administration of drugs designed to kill the cancer cells and prevent them from spreading to other areas of the body. Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by directing high energy radiation at the tumor. Most often, a combination of these options will be used to increase the odds of eradicating the tumor, according to the National Cancer Institute.

    Side Effects

    • Each treatment option has its own accompanying list of side effects; help to manage these will be available from a GI oncologist as part of the overall treatment plan. Common side effects of chemotherapy include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, headache and hair loss. Radiation therapy's side effect profile includes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and skin irritations at the radiation site, according to the National Cancer Institute. Patients who have had surgery will be fatigued and prone to infection, often requiring hospitalization.

    Nutrition

    • Meeting nutritional needs is an ongoing concern for patients with digestive system cancers. Often the symptoms of these tumors will include loss of appetite and feelings of fullness, and the treatment side effects also will cause also cause a person to not feel like eating. It is, however; of vital importance that patients to ensure adequate caloric intake to control weight loss both during and after treatment in order to promote healing. Ongoing follow-up care with a GI oncologist will include a focus on nutrition, according to the National Cancer Institute.

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