Colorectal cancer
This guideline covers diagnosing and managing colorectal (bowel) cancer in people aged 18 and over. It aims to improve quality of life and survival for adults with colorectal cancer through early diagnosis and staging, management of local disease according to risk of recurrence (high, moderate, low) and management of secondary tumours (metastatic disease).
In colorectal cancer, cells in the colon or in the rectum start to grow in an uncontrolled way, forming a lump called the primary cancer or primary tumour. Like other cancers, colorectal cancer starts in a small area but can spread to other parts of the body to form metastatic tumours.
The term colorectal cancer covers cancers in both the colon (colon cancer) and the rectum (rectal cancer).