Clinico-Demographic Profile of Carcinoma Rectum-Experience from a Tertiary Care Centre of Eastern India

Carcinoma rectum is a major health issue in India as well as the rest of the world. Cases of rectal cancers are often diagnosed late because of mimicking symptoms with haemorrhoids/fissures and lack of awareness. In this study, we analysed the clinico-demographic profile of patients with carcinoma rectum, attending a tertiary care centre of Eastern India over the last 2 years. We analysed the database of radiotherapy OPD of a tertiary care centre of Eastern India, and collected the demographic, clinical and treatment data of rectal carcinoma patients who attended our OPD between 2021 and 2023. The objective was to assess the demographic and clinical profile of these patients and compare with those reported from other parts of the India as well as rest of the world. Data of total 76 patients were analysed in this study. The mean age of the study population was 50.7 (± 13.59) years. A striking 40% of patients were below 50 years of age. Stage III was the most common (43%) TNM stage at presentation. 15.7% presented with metastatic disease with the liver being the most common site of metastasis. 15.7% of patients underwent upfront surgery either as trans-anal resection or trans-abdominal resection of tumour. Most of the patients (56.5%) had gone through surgery after neo-adjuvant therapy (either total neo-adjuvant therapy or neo-adjuvant radiotherapy). Around 64.4% (n = 49) of patients received radiation as part of total neo-adjuvant therapy (TNT). Eight (10.5%) patients received adjuvant therapy after definitive surgery. To conclude, it can be said that this study revealed involvement of younger population, emergence of poor prognostic histologies and presence of disease at an advanced stage, all of which should be counted as warning signs for the picture rectal carcinoma of India. More researches are required in this field for detection of risk factors, prevention and treatment.