How Colon Cancer Develops > News [Video]

Even if you understand the importance of getting a colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer, you might not know how cancer develops in this crucial organ.

The colon and rectum have an inner lining called the mucosa or epithelium, which contains epithelial cells. The mucosa helps the colon form and move feces, as well as maintain a proper balance of electrolytes and water, explains Ira Leeds, MD, a Yale Medicine colorectal surgeon.

“The mucosa works overtime to keep the process going in a smooth and predictable fashion, and to do so, just like the skin on the outside of your body, it’s turning over all the time,” Dr. Leeds says.

But, sometimes, mistakes occur in that cell turnover process. “And for the colon, because it’s happening at such a high frequency, those errors come up more frequently than they would in your eye or heart,” Dr. Leeds adds.

In the colon and rectum, those abnormal clusters of cells are …