About 15% of people with stage 4 colon cancer live for at least 5 years after they receive their diagnosis. The stage of the disease, a person’s age and other factors can all affect survival.
Younger Patients Have Better Prognosis Compared to Older Ones
Most people with colon cancer are diagnosed in their twenties or thirties, and a recent study has shown that younger patients have a better overall survival than older ones. This advantage may be partly due to the use of more aggressive chemotherapy regimens in the younger population, and also because fewer patients discontinue treatment early due to side effects or other reasons.
These benefits could be especially important for patients with stage IV colorectal cancer, which is the most dangerous stage of colon cancer. It’s common for metastatic colorectal cancer to spread to the liver and other parts of the body, which can cause a wide range of health issues.
For this reason, it’s crucial to have regular screenings and talk with your doctor about how much risk you’re taking for colon cancer. It’s also important to take other steps to reduce your risk for the condition, such as getting regular exercise and eating a healthy diet.
The Stages of Colon Cancer
In the United States, most people with colon cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage. These stages are based on the location of the tumor (T), the involvement of nearby lymph nodes (N), and whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (M).
The 5-year survival rate for stage IV colon cancer is about 14%, although this depends on the treatment chosen. Most people with stage 4 colon cancer have a few treatment options, including surgery and chemotherapy.
There are some people with stage 4 colon cancer who choose to have a less-invasive treatment, such as a surgery called neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This is where doctors try to destroy cancer cells before removing the main tumor. This type of chemotherapy is not recommended for everyone, but can be effective in some situations.
About 25% of people with colon cancer will develop metastases, which means that the tumors have spread to other parts of the body. These metastases can be in the brain, lungs, liver, peritoneum, or other organs.
Symptoms from metastatic colon cancer vary by the part of the body where the disease is spreading, but they can include abdominal pain and difficulty swallowing or coughing. For these reasons, it’s important to have regular screenings for metastatic colon cancer.
The Stages of Colorectal Cancer by Age
To help determine the best treatment for an individual with stage IV colon cancer, researchers used a number of statistics from previous studies to predict how long someone would live if they received a particular treatment. They found that patients who had received surgery for their cancer were about as likely to live longer as those who had not. The same research found that patients who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy were about as likely to live longer as those without the treatment.
