Written by Dr Jonathan Briody. Dr Briody is a health economist conducting an economic evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of precision medicine for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Colorectal cancer (CRC), sometimes referred to as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cells which grow out of control in the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). As the third most commonly diagnosed, and second deadliest cancer, on average 10% of cancer diagnoses and 9.4% of deaths are attributed to CRC annually. A global burden of 1.93 million new diagnoses and 0.94 million deaths in 2020, coupled with projections of 3.2 million annual cases in 2040, suggests a growing global public health challenge. A key determinant of patient prognosis, metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) accounts for most recorded colorectal cancer-related deaths. CRC cells may break away from the original tumour and travel to other parts of the body via the blood or lymphatic system. Typical locations for this CRC metastasis include the liver, lungs, and brain.
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