A study looking at the symptoms that show bowel cancer is coming back after surgery

Cancer type:

Bowel (colorectal) cancer

Colon cancer

Rectal cancer

Status:

Results

Phase:

Other

This study looked at symptoms people might have that show bowel cancer is coming back after surgery.

More about this trial

Doctors often treat bowel cancer (colorectal cancer) with surgery to try and cure it. But sometimes the cancer comes back. Researchers think recognising early symptoms Open a glossary item of cancer coming back may help people to get the treatment they need sooner.

The aim of this study was to see if it was possible to identify

The pattern of symptoms people have
Factors affecting how people manage their symptoms including when they decide to see a doctor
If people at high risk of their cancer coming back had any differences in their symptoms and the way they used the health care services

Summary of results

The study team found it was difficult to do a detailed analysis of symptoms or identify specific symptoms that were most likely to show that bowel cancer had come back (recurred). The researchers say this is due to a lack of research on which to base recommendations for recognising symptoms for both patients and doctors.

The researchers looked for any previous research that described the symptoms people have when their bowel cancer has come back and also looked for information about this in the national guidelines for bowel cancer.

The study team then asked a small number of expert cancer doctors and nurses about the symptoms they think are important signs of bowel cancer coming back. They used this to develop a symptom checklist.

30 people who had surgery for bowel cancer took part in this small study. Some people had cancer that had come back and some didn’t.

The researchers looked at everybody’s hospital notes to see what tests, treatments and symptoms they had. The researchers also interviewed everyone. They asked about

Treatment and care people had
Symptoms people had since diagnosis and how they managed them
Which symptoms prompted them to seek medical advice

The main findings were that

Few studies have reported the symptoms people have when their cancer has come back
Current national guidelines promote early detection of cancer that has come back but fail to provide advice on what the symptoms are
Patients with or without cancer that has come back report a number of symptoms that include tummy pain or bloating, breathlessness, tiredness, back pain, joint pain or pain elsewhere in the body
Most patients think the symptoms are due to treatment, getting older or other causes but not a sign of cancer coming back
Most patients choose to manage their own symptoms rather than tell their doctors. Only a few symptoms reported in the interview were recorded in the patient’s medical notes

The researchers concluded that there isn’t enough research into recognising symptoms of cancer coming back. They recommend that future research looks into this in more detail.