My sister was recently told that the walls of her intestines are thickening. What does this mean? Can this lead to colon cancer?

Iris

Many different diseases can cause intestinal thickening. Possible causes include inflammatory conditions, such as Crohn's disease and colitis, and cancers of the intestine (colon cancer, lymphoma), infections, metabolic disorders and vascular disorders in which the bowel does not get enough blood.

Possible thickening of the intestinal walls is usually first detected during a radiographic examination of the bowel -- for example, a small-bowel barium study or barium enema. Sometimes it may also be picked up on an abdominal CT scan. To confirm the diagnosis, doctors usually follow up with an endoscopic exam to take tissue samples. In many cases, nothing abnormal is found in the tissue samples. This is because even healthy intestinal loops may sometimes appear thicker than usual. Also, the imaging solutions used in radiographic exams occasionally may fail to reach all the areas of the intestine equally, and these areas may appear thickened.

Nevertheless, because intestinal thickening can be a sign of cancer or other serious diseases, any indication that it may exist should not be ignored. Your sister should get all the follow-up tests that her doctor recommends.