Around 60% of newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients suffer from iron deficiency at the time of diagnosis. The study hypothesis is that, besides leading to anemia, iron deficiency might be associated with impaired patient report outcomes in the domains of fatigue, quality of life, cognitive impairment and lower physical ability. No previous studies on colorectal cancer patients and iron deficiency are available.
The participants (patients suspected of colorectal cancer after endoscopy) will be tested on these parameters. The participants and the investigators are blinded to the patients iron status. The study takes place before any preoperative iron treatment. Multivariate analysis will be used taking into account, gender, age, hemoglobin, tumor stage.
