Treatment of Stage 1 to 3 Locally Advanced Colon Cancer:
Colon cancer is a common and lethal disease. It is estimated that approximately 141,210 new cases of large bowel cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2011, including about 101,000 colon and 40,000 rectal cancers. Colon cancer mortality has been progressively declining since 1990 at a rate of about 3 percent per year.
Screening with fecal occult blood testing, colonoscopy, or radiology can lead to diagnosis at an earlier stage of disease and therefore reduce mortality.
Symptoms of colon cancer are typically due to growth of the tumor into the lumen of the colon or adjacent structures. As a result, symptomatic presentation is often a manifestation of relatively advanced colon cancer. The majority of patients presenting with symptomatic colon cancer have blood in the stool, abdominal pain, otherwise unexplained iron deficiency anemia and/or a change in bowel habits
Staging of Colon Cancer:
Preoperative clinical staging is best accomplished by physical examination (with particular attention to ascites, hepatomegaly and lymphadenopathy), CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis, and chest imaging. Although frequently obtained preoperatively, liver enzymes may be normal in the setting of small hepatic metastases and are not a reliable marker for exclusion of liver involvement. The single most common liver test abnormality associated with liver metastases is an elevation in the serum alkaline phosphatase level.
Serum CEA levels should be obtained preoperatively in patients with demonstrated colorectal cancer to aid surgical treatment planning, assessment of prognosis and follow-up. Elevated preoperative CEA levels that do not normalize following surgical resection imply the presence of persistent disease and the need for further evaluation.
Treatment of Colon Cancer:
Surgical resection is the primary treatment modality for colon cancer, and outcome is most closely related to the extent of disease at presentation.
If the tumor is considered “high risk”, despite not having any cancer spread to the lymph nodes surrounding the tumor, your medical oncologist could recommend chemotherapy. If there are lymph nodes that are involved with cancer, then the standard of care currently is chemotherapy following surgical resection.
Adjuvant
Chemotherapy for Resected Colon Cancer:
Adjuvant
chemotherapy is typically started only after recovery from surgery. Adjuvant
colon cancer trials typically mandate initiation of chemotherapy within six to
eight weeks of resection, and this has become an accepted approach.
For patients who have undergone
potentially curative resection of colon cancer, the goal of postoperative
(adjuvant) therapy is to eradicate micrometastases, thereby reducing the
likelihood of disease recurrence and increasing the cure rate. The benefits of
adjuvant chemotherapy have been most clearly demonstrated in stage III
(node-positive) disease (an approximately 30 percent reduction in the risk of
disease recurrence and a 22 to 32 percent reduction in mortality), whereas
benefit in stage II disease remains controversial.
We recommend adjuvant systemic therapy after resection of stage
III colon cancer If possible, chemotherapy should be initiated within six to
eight weeks of surgery.
We recommend a six month course of anoxaliplatin-based regimen rather than
bolus 5-FU plusleucovorin (5-FU/LV)
orcapecitabine for patients
who are likely to tolerate oxaliplatin
XELOX (oxaliplatin plus oralcapecitabine) is an acceptable
alternative to FOLOFOX.
For patients with a contraindication tooxaliplatin (eg, preexisting
neuropathy), 5-FU/LV is an acceptable option, although outcomes may not be as
favorable. Our preferred regimens are six to eight months of weekly bolus 5-FU
plus high dose LV (each 500 mg/m2) weekly for
six of each eight weeks for four cycles (the Roswell Park regimen [42]), or short-term infusional 5-FU/LV
An alternative is six months of oralcapecitabine is acceptable.
Survival Rates of Colon Cancer Based on Staging:
Five-year survival rates according to tumor stage at diagnosis (using the older 2002 AJCC staging criteria for 119,363 patients with colon cancer reported to the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) database between 1991 and 2000 were as follows:
Stage I (T1-2 N0) — 93 percent
Stage IIA (T3N0) — 85 percent
Stage IIB (T4N0) — 72 percent
Stage IIIA (T1-2 N1) — 83 percent
Stage IIIB (T3-4 N1) — 64 percent
Stage IIIC (N2 disease) — 44 percent
These are simply statistics and do not imply how you as the patient will do with the same stage of cancer. It is always best to remain hopeful and optimistic.
TNM staging for colorectal cancer
Primary tumor (T)
TX
Primary tumor cannot be assessed
T0
No evidence of primary tumor
Tis
Carcinoma in situ: intraepithelial or invasion of lamina propria*
T1
Tumor invades submucosa
T2
Tumor invades muscularis propria
T3
Tumor invades through the muscularis propria into pericolorectal tissues
T4a
Tumor penetrates to the surface of the visceral peritoneum•
T4b
Tumor directly invades or is adherent to other organs or structures•Δ
Regional lymph node (N)◊
NX
Regional lymph nodes cannot be assessed
N0
No regional lymph node metastasis
N1
Metastasis in 1-3 regional lymph nodes
N1a
Metastasis in one regional lymph node
N1b
Metastasis in 2-3 regional lymph nodes
N1c
Tumor deposit(s) in the subserosa, mesentery, or nonperitonealized pericolic or perirectal tissues without regional nodal metastasis
N2
Metastasis in four or more regional lymph nodes
N2a
Metastasis in 4-6 regional lymph nodes
N2b
Metastasis in seven or more regional lymph nodes
Distant metastasis (M)
M0
No distant metastasis
M1
Distant metastasis
M1a
Metastasis confined to one organ or site (eg, liver, lung, ovary, nonregional node)
M1b
Metastases in more than one organ/site or the peritoneum
Anatomic stage/prognostic groups§
Stage
T
N
M
Dukes¥
MAC¥
0
Tis
N0
M0
-
-
I
T1
N0
M0
A
A
T2
N0
M0
A
B1
IIA
T3
N0
M0
B
B2
IIB
T4a
N0
M0
B
B2
IIC
T4b
N0
M0
B
B3
IIIA
T1-2
N1/N1c
M0
C
C1
T1
N2a
M0
C
C1
IIIB
T3-T4a
N1/N1c
M0
C
C2
T2-T3
N2a
M0
C
C1/C2
T1-T2
N2b
M0
C
C1
IIIC
T4a
N2a
M0
C
C2
T3-T4a
N2b
M0
C
C2
T4b
N1-N2
M0
C
C3
IVA
Any T
Any N
M1a
-
-
IVB
Any T
Any N
M1b
-
-
Here, Dr. Tony Talebi discusses general concepts of colon cancer with Dr. Caio Rocha Lima, professor of medicine at the University of Miami including chemotherapy for colon cancer, colon cancer awareness month, colon cancer symtoms, warning signs of colon cancer, colon cancer screening, stage 4 colon cancer, symptons of colon cancer, chemo for colon cancer, stage four colon cancer, colon cancer diet, how to check for colon cancer, what are symptoms of colon cancer,stage iv colon cancer, colon cancer bowel movements, preventing colon cancer, colon cancer support groups, colon cancer foundation, sigmoid colon cancer, about colon cancer, cure for colon cancer, facts about colon cancer, colon cancer warning signs, colon cancer hereditary, metastatic colon cancer, signs of colon cancer in men, colon cancer hereditary, surgery for colon cancer, colon cancer definition, advanced colon cancer, colon cancer com, can colon cancer be cured, diet for colon cancer, treating colon cancer, colon cancer color, can colon cancer be cured, treating colon cancer, colon cancer surgery, symptoms colon cancer women, is colon cancer hereditary, stage 3 colon cancer life expectancy, signs and symptoms of colon cancer
Dr. Caio Rocha Lima Credentials:
Board Certifications American Board of Internal Med-Medical Oncology
Practice Locations University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center