Ask the Doctor: are fissures a risk factor for colon cancer?
Dr. Robert Madoff, M.D.
As part of our Ask the Doctor program, readers send questions related to health, wellness, colon cancer prevention, screening or treatment. Our panel of experts responds. This month, Dr. Robert Madoff M.D., Professor of Surgery, Division Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Minnesota, answers a question about the possible risk factors for colon cancer.
Reader: I have had anal fissures for 30+ years that periodically flare up, especially if I’m constipated. Are chronic fissures a risk factor for later developing anorectal cancer? How often should I be checked to know that the small amounts of blood I see are not something more serious then the presumed fissure???
Dr. Madoff: In brief, fissures are not risk factors for anal or colorectal cancer. But they are treatable—so there is no reason to go on bleeding indefinitely. You should be seen by your doctor to be sure of the correct diagnosis, plus undergo the routine recommended CRC screening.
