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Colon Cancer
Treatment |
Colon Cancer Treatment
Treatment of
Colon Cancer
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The treatment
of Colon Cancer depends on the staging of the
colon cancer. When colon cancer is caught at early
stages (with little spread) it can be curable.
However when colon cancer is detected at later stages (when
distant metastases are present) it is less likely to
be curable. Surgery remains the primary treatment
for colon cancer while
chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy may be
recommended depending on the individual patient's
staging and other medical factors.
Surgery of
Colon Cancer
Surgical treatment is by far the most likely to
result in a cure of colon cancer if the tumor is
localized.
Very early colon cancer that develops within a
polyp can often be cured by removing the polyp at
the time of
colonoscopy. More advanced
colon cancers
typically require surgical removal of the section of colon containing the tumor (colon cancer) leaving sufficient
margins to reduce likelihood of re-growth. If
possible, the remaining parts of colon are
anastomosed together to create a functioning colon.
In cases when anastomosis is not possible, a stoma
(artificial orifice) is created. While surgery is
not usually offered if significant metastasis is
present, surgical removal of isolated liver
metastases is common. Improved chemotherapy has
increased the number of patients who are offered
surgical removal of isolated liver metastases.
Laparoscopic assist resection of the
colon for
tumour can reduce the size of painful incision and
minimize the risk of infection. As with any surgical
procedure, colorectal surgery can in rare cases
result in complications. These may include
infection, abscess, fistula or bowel obstruction.
Radiation Treatment and
Colon
Cancer
Radiation therapy
for colon cancer is used to kill tumor tissue
before or after surgery or when surgery is not
indicated. Sometimes
chemotherapy agents are used to
increase the effectiveness of radiation by
sensitizing tumor cells if present.
Chemotherapy and
Colon Cancer
Chemotherapy
for colon cancers is used to reduce the likelihood of
metastasis developing, shrink tumor size, or slow
tumor growth. Chemotherapy is often applied after
surgery (adjuvant), before surgery (neo-adjuvant),
or as the primary therapy if surgery is not
indicated (palliative). The treatments listed here
have been shown in clinical trials to improve
survival and/or reduce mortality and have been
approved for use by the US Food and Drug
Administration.
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- Adjuvant(after surgery)
chemotherapy
- 5-fluorouracil (5FU)
- Leucovorin (LV)
- Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin®)
- Palliative
Chemotherapy - Standard first-line
therapy
- 5-fluorouracil (5FU)
- Leucovorin
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- Alternate first line
Chemotherapy
- capecitabine (Xeloda®)
- Other first line agents
- Irinotecan (Camptosar®, CPT-11) -
- Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin®)
- bevacizumab (Avastin®)
- Second Line
Chemotherapy
- cetuximab (Erbitux®)
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Alternative Therapy for
Colon
Cancer
The agents listed here are not proven in clinical
trials but may be considered to have anti-colon
cancer properties in in-vitro studies, the popular
press, folk medicine or other sources.
- Ginger
- Curcumin (Turmeric anti-angiogenesis factor)
- Mistletoe extract (as solid tumor reducer)
- Acupuncture (symptom reduction)
Colon Cancer
Treatment Support therapies
Cancer diagnosis very often results in an enormous
change in the patient's psychological wellbeing.
Various support resources are available from,
hospitals and other agencies which provide
counseling, social service support, cancer support
groups, and other services. These services help to
mitigate some of the difficulties of integrating a
patient's medical complications into other parts of
their life.
Colon Cancer
Prevention
Most colorectal cancers (Colon Cancers) should be preventable,
through increased surveillance, improved lifestyle,
and, probably, the use of dietary chemopreventive
agents.
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Surveillance: most colorectal cancer (colon
cancer) arise
from adenomatous polyps. These lesions can be
detected and removed during
colonoscopy.
Studies
show this procedure would decrease by > 80% the
risk of colon cancer death, provided it is started by
the age of 50, and repeated every 5 or 10 years (Winawer
et al 1993).
- Lifestyle: The comparison of
colorectal cancer incidence in various countries strongly suggests
that sedentarity, overeating (= high caloric
intake), and perhaps a diet high in meat (red or
processed) could increase the risk of colon
cancer. In contrast, physical exercise, and eating
plenty of fruits and vegetables would decrease
colon cancer risk, probably because they contain
protective phytochemicals. Eating whole apples,
including the skin, offers some anticancer
benefits (Liu et al). Accordingly,
lifestyle
changes could decrease the risk of colon cancer as much as 60-80% (Cummings and Bingham
1998).
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- Chemoprevention: More than
200 agents, including the above cited
phytochemicals, and other food components like
calcium or folic acid (a
B vitamin), and NSAIDS
drugs like aspirin, are able to decrease
carcinogenesis in preclinical models: Some studies
show full inhibition of carcinogen-induced tumours
in the colon of rats. Other studies show
strong inhibition of spontaneous intestinal polyps
in mutated mice (Min mice). Chemoprevention
clinical trials in human volunteers have shown
smaller prevention, but few intervention studies
have been completed today. Calcium and aspirin
supplements, given for 3 to 5 years after the
removal of a polyp, modestly decreased the
recurrence of polyps in volunteers (by 15-20%).
The "chemoprevention database" shows the results
of all published scientific studies of
chemopreventive agents, in people and in animals.
By: The Medical
Symptoms Database |
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