People diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer have advanced disease, and the prognosis is lower than for earlier stages of the disease. However, there are many treatment options available that can help extend life and improve quality of life.
Stage 4 colon cancer describes when cancer in the colon has spread to other parts of the body. This can happen when the cells break away from the main colon and travel through blood vessels to other tissues or organs in the body. The most common place for colon cancer to travel is to the liver, but it can also go to the lungs or lymph nodes.
Doctors can’t cure colon cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, but they can try to control it by using surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or ablation. People with this stage of colon cancer usually need to be hospitalized for their treatment.
When doctors diagnose someone with stage 4 colon cancer, they will use a variety of tests to find out how far the disease has spread. They will often take a sample of tissue from the area where the cancer is and then send it to a lab for more testing. The most common surgery at this stage of the disease is a partial colectomy, which involves removing the section of the colon that has cancer and nearby lymph nodes. They may also use a procedure called a diverting colostomy, which involves cutting the colon above the cancer and connecting it to an opening in the skin on the abdomen so waste can pass out of the body.
After surgery, doctors will give chemotherapy or other drugs to try to keep the cancer from spreading and to reduce symptoms. Chemotherapy is the most common treatment at this stage of colon cancer, and it’s typically given with FOLFOX (folatase, leucovorin, oxaliplatin), or CapeOx (capecitabine and oxaliplatin).
If the colon cancer has spread to the liver or lungs, patients might also receive a drug that targets the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway or the epithelial cell growth factor receptor pathway. If the colon cancer has become too advanced to treat, doctors might recommend a combination of palliative care, such as pain medications and supportive care, or they might suggest hospice care if the person decides not to continue treatment.
It is important to know that survival rates for people with stage 4 colon cancer are different from those who have early-stage cancer because this cancer has spread. However, it is also important to remember that survival rates are only estimates and that everyone is different.
