Stages of Colon Cancer

Stages of colon cancer, just like any kind of cancer, are classified into four. Each of these stages has characteristics that enable doctors to classify them accordingly. Below are the stages of colon cancer, their description, as well as the treatments that can be applied and used in each of them.

Stage 0

This is the stage wherein the cancer is still in its earliest phase. In this stage, the cancer cells have only affected the innermost mucosal lining in the colon.

In stage 0 colon cancer, the abnormal cells are confined to what is called ‘polyp’. The mode of treatment for this is surgical removal of the polyp or polyps. The removal can be done in two ways. First is through polypectomy wherein there is a bigger size of incision is done to get to the polyp and remove it. The other method is by local excision of the polyp thru a colonoscope. With the aid of the colonoscope, the doctor is able to clearly see the polyp and take it out without having to make any other incisions in the body.

When a person is diagnosed to have stage 0 colon cancer, he has great chances of surviving. In fact, in all stages of colon cancer, this stage carries a greater than 95% survival rate.

Stage I

Just like stage 0, this stage also carries with it a high survival rate. In this stage, the cancer cells have affected only the sub mucosal layers of the colon. With sub mucosa, this simply pertains to the layer that is right next to the superficial layers of the colon walls.

In stage I, the colon cancer has not spread to any other organ. It has not involved any lymph node. Along with these, the cancer cells still have not divided that much. Because of these, treatment of stage I involves nothing else but surgery. Unlike stage 0 wherein the tumor is removed by excision, in this stage, the tumor is removed by resection. In this procedure, the area where the tumor is located is cut off. After taking out the section containing the tumor, the two ends of the colon are resected or joined together to make the entire organ whole again.

Stage II

In this stage, the cancer cells have affected even the colon walls. In some cases, the cancer cells even have spread to other nearby tissues. Although the cancer has begun to spread to its organ’s surrounding tissues, there is still no lymph node involvement. Because of this, the cancer may have spread but not to the organs that are far from the one it originated.

Stage II colon cancer is treated with surgical removal of the tumor. Just like in Stage I, a surgical resection is usually what is needed most of the time.

After surgical removal, it is standard procedure for doctors to check the cells that surrounded the tumor before. This is to check for recurrence of the cancer. If they suspect that there will be recurrence, then they will follow things up with chemotherapy or radiation. However, between the two, radiation is usually recommended since chemotherapy in this stage is only part of a clinical trial and not as a standard treatment.

Stage III

Unlike the previous stages of colon cancer wherein the cancer cells are limited to the areas within or near their primary site, in stage III, the cancer cells has spread to areas outside the colon. Usually, they involve the areas that are located right next door to the colon.

In stage III, there is now lymph node involvement. In this stage, one or two lymph nodes are affected by the cells. This is very dangerous since the abnormal cells now have a way of getting to other places far from the colon. This is why when a patient is diagnosed to have stage III colon cancer, he has a great chance of developing stage IV later on.

Stage III cancer requires more aggressive treatments. Not only is surgical removal of the tumor done, chemotherapy and radiation treatments are also being given to the patient to make sure that the cancer cells have been eradicated.

Stage IV

Of all stages of colon cancer, this is the stage where the cancer has reached organs far from the colon and a lot of lymph nodes have become affected. Because of this, there is less than 20% survival rate since recovery is now hard to achieve.

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