What is 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.

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

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

Title
Professor of Medicine

Co-leader of Phase I clinical trials