Stage 4 colon cancer
Colon is a part of the digestive system that is responsible for the processing of the nutrients from the food. Colon cancer is a disease, which spreads into the other cells from the colon cells. Colon cancer has a number of risk factors. Some of these risk factors include:
Age: older people above the age of 50 years are at a risk of getting of colon cancer.
People who have a family history of colon cancer are at more risk
People who have a personal history of cancer in the rectum, endometrium, ovary, breasts or colon.
People who have a history of ulcerative colitis
Hereditary conditions like familial adenomatous polyposis and hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer.
If you are at risk and observe the following symptoms then you should immediately consult a doctor:
Any change in the bowel habits
Diarrhea or constipation or if you feel that the bowels do not empty properly
Appearance of blood in the stools
Unknown weight loss
Stools that are narrower than usual
Frequent gas pains, bloating, fullness, or cramps
Fatigue, vomiting
Stage IV colon cancer
Like all other cancer the treatment of colon cancer is also dependent on the stage in which the cancer is. Colon cancer is said to be in Stage IV when after the surgery it is found that the cancer has spread to different parts of the body like : bones, lungs, liver etc. In most of the cases it is considered that stage IV colon cancer has a very few treatment options however there are a number of patients who have been treated successfully and many of them who have obtained benefit from the additional treatment.
Patients having stage IV colon cancer are categorized into two:
Those with metastatic cancer that has spread into different parts of the bosy and cannot be treated with surgery
Those where cancer has metastasized into single site. They can benefit from local treatment.
Treatment options for Stage IV colon cancer
The treatment for stage IV cancer can consist of the following
Surgery
Radiation therapy
Targeted therapy
Chemotherapy
These treatments can be used either alone or in combination with one another. It is usually seen that patients with widespread stage IV colon cancer are given treatment with chemotherapy so that they can have a prolonged survival. There are a number a number of drugs that are used in combination for the chemotherapy treatment of this type of stage Iv cancer. Moreover in many cases multi-modality treatment is used where two or more treatment methods.
For many years fluorouracil was used as a standard treatment for the widespread metastatic cancer. This drug is given along with leucovorin, which increases the effect of fluorouracil by making the drug stay inside the cell for a longer time. the combination chemotherapy has increased the treatment benefits for such patients. Apart from leucovorin platinum based therapy like oxaliplatin or irinotecan can also be used.
Many chemotherapy drugs have been designed so that they can be given in the form of oral doses like pills. This eases the administration for the patient as he or she would not have to visit the hospital frequently.
Using chemotherapy with targeted therapy: Targeted therapy involves treating of only cancer cells so that the damage to the normal cells can be reduced. Using chemotherapy and targeted therapy together can result in a number of benefits to the patient. Researches have shown that Bevacizumab (targeted therapy) in combination with chemotherapy has improved the outcome of treatment in patients with cancer.
Treating stage IV colon cancer for single site metastasis
Stage IV colon cancer is usually seen to spread in the lungs or the liver. For treating such a case either of the following is used
;Surgery
Radiation therapy called as radio-frequency ablation
Specialized delivery of chemotherapy
In patients with liver metastasis specialized chemotherapy is used where the drug is infused into the blood vessels that supply to the liver (hepatic artery infusion). Even surgery has benefited a lot of patients where metastasized cancer in liver or lung has been removed by surgery. Radio-frequency ablation is a method by which the heat of the high-energy radio waves kills the cancer cells. These therapies have helped a number of patients in prolonging or curing the cancer.
Treating elderly for stage IV colon cancer
A number of patients with stage Iv colon cancer are above 65 years of age. Elderly usually have concurrent diseases and various medical complications and these can be aggravated by the side effects of chemotherapy. For this reason the dose for chemotherapy for elderly needs to be reduced. It has been proved in researches that if elderly are given the same dose as youngsters it can result in many side effects.
Improving treatment for Stage IV colon cancer
There are a number of therapies that are still under research for the treatment of stage IV colon cancer. Newer combinations for systemic chemotherapy are being tested and also for new targeted therapy. Other newer therapies being developed include Liver direct therapy, immunotherapy etc.
There are a number of Clinical Trials that are going on in different phases for improving the treatment options of Stage IV colon cancer. Patients in this stage of colon cancer can take benefits from these clinical trials by taking part in them. Patients who are interested in taking part in these trials can consult their physician or visit www.clinicaltrials.gov to get more information on the ongoing clinical trials for Stage IV colon cancer.
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