March Blue Campaign prioritizes the prevention of bowel cancer

Residents of risk groups aged 50 to 70 years, from the riverside city of Óbidos (PA), which is difficult to access and can only be reached by boat, underwent fecal occult blood tests by professionals participating in the campaign Blue March and those who test positive are now undergoing colonoscopy tests to prevent bowel cancer.

The campaign is the result of a partnership between three medical entities that treat bowel cancer: the Brazilian Society of Digestive Endoscopy (Sobed), the Brazilian Society of Coloproctology (SBCP) and the Brazilian Federation of Gastroenterology (FBG). The campaign has the motto “Doctor and patient: a partnership that saves lives! Together to prevent bowel cancer .”

The president of SBCP, Hélio Moreira, informed Agência Brasil on Tuesday (12) that “there is an expectation that we will carry out 460 colonoscopies in this population in Óbidos. Remembering that these are people who do not have any symptoms. The only risk factor that was raised to define screening was age and then the presence of occult blood in the feces or not.” More than 170 colonoscopies have already been carried out in Óbidos. In these, they diagnosed two patients with bowel cancer and about 35% diagnosed with polyps or lesions, which were removed and consequently treated.”

The doctor observed that, in bowel cancer, the prevention is more efficient . “When you talk about breast or prostate cancer, the recommendation to carry out preventive exams actually aims to diagnose the disease at an early stage. She is already a cancer. In bowel cancer, screening is to detect lesions that have not yet turned into cancer and, when treated by removing these lesions, you prevent the individual from getting cancer.”

These injuries, called polyps or warts , are born inside the intestine. With colonoscopy, these polyps are treated. Hélio Moreira clarified that although that polyp was treated, the person may have new polyps in the future. But the time that passes between a polyp appearing and it turning into cancer varies. from 8 to 10 or 12 years old , he highlighted. “It’s not a quick thing.” By removing these polyps now, the doctor may recommend repeating this test to screen for new polyps over a longer period of time, giving individuals the minimum chance of having bowel cancer with this type of screening.

I estimated

Estimates from the National Cancer Institute (Inca), linked to the Ministry of Health, are 45,630 new cases of colorectal cancer in Brazil , in each year of the 2023/2025 triennium, potentially affecting more than 136 thousand Brazilians. Inca points to an estimated risk of 21.10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, divided between 21,970 men and 23,660 women.

Data from the Datasus Mortality Information System (SIM), referring to 2020, indicate that 20,245 people died due to colon cancer rectum and anus, highlighting the urgency of preventive and awareness-raising actions.

“To get an idea of ​​how important this is a problem and that public authorities need to be more sensitive to this issue, in 2010, we had 23 thousand cases of bowel cancer in Brazil. In ten years, the number of cases of bowel cancer has doubled. Today, it is the second most common type of cancer, both for men and women, in our population. And the incidence has been increasing alarmingly”, assured Hélio Moreira.

The president of SBCP defended the establishment of a national program that is part of the federal government's bowel cancer screening calendar. Both colonoscopy and fecal occult blood testing are carried out within the scope of the Unified Health System (SUS). “But it is necessary to better organize the system, increase the number of clinics that can offer these tests, to be able to meet the demand that a bowel cancer screening program will generate.”

Hélio Moreira admitted that, initially, the program will require a lot of resources. “But in the medium and long term, it will be observed that a huge number of patients who would have cancer will no longer have it. A huge number of patients who are diagnosed today at an advanced stage of cancer will be treated endoscopically, where treatment involves surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and, even so, with very low patient survival rates.”

Moreira clarified that once a tracking system is implemented, spending on treating patients who have cancer and significantly improves your chances of healing . “So, in the medium and long term, this initial investment is largely justified. To save a life, any expense is justified. But even from a financial point of view, it is much more interesting for us to implement a tracking system than to leave things as they are today”, he indicated.

Symptoms

Currently, in Brazil, more than 70% of bowel cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease. “It is a catastrophe. We are talking about very expensive, prolonged treatments, immense suffering for the patient and family, absence from work, the need to use colostomy bags, which could be avoided with an adequate tracking system,” he explained.

Moreira reinforced that in the diagnosis of bowel cancer in the early stages the most common symptom is not having symptoms . “When there are symptoms, they are usually more advanced cases and the population needs to understand that they should be valued.” The main symptom is the presence of bright blood in the stool.

Other important aspects are weight loss of unknown cause, the emergence of anemia of undetermined cause and the presence of a change in bowel habits. In other words, suddenly, the intestine, which worked in one way, starts to change the way it works: it gets stuck, there are episodes of diarrhea, then it gets stuck again. “When this happens, evaluate the symptoms and seek a specialist doctor so that he or she can assess the need for further investigation.”

This is the fourth year of the Blue March campaign . Until the end of this month, actions will be carried out in all capital cities and in some medium and small cities, with walks, distribution of pamphlets, public hearings, interviews, all with the greater interest of alerting the population about this topic, which is so important for the health.

Each year, the in-person exam group takes place in a specific city. Last year, for example, it occurred in Cairu (BA) and, the year before, in Pilar (AL). “We usually choose cities that are difficult to access, with little supply of endoscopy exams for the region, where the campaign can really have a huge impact on that population”, said the president of SBCP.

Risk factors

The three entities participating in the campaign emphasize that the intestinal tumor can be influenced by several risk factors including a family history of cancer, being overweight or obese, being 50 years of age or older, a diet rich in processed foods and red meat, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and the presence of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and ulcerative colitis. Crohn's.

The prevention of bowel cancer is linked to a healthy lifestyle which includes regular exercise , maintaining ideal weight, abstaining from smoking and moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. In addition, it is recommended to adopt a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, bran and whole grains, drink around two liters of water per day and limit the consumption of red meat and ultra-processed and processed foods.

The Blue March 2024 Campaign, dedicated to raising awareness about bowel cancer, is available on site, where information about the disease can be found, including prevention methods, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment options. The initiative has institutional support from the Brazilian Medical Association (AMB) and the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM).