How long does metastatic colon cancer live?

Posted by Dr. Quach Thanh Dung - Oncologist at Vinmec Times City International Hospital.

Patients with colon cancer in the final stage often have extremely despair and anxiety. How long does metastatic colon cancer live and what are the treatment options when the disease is at an advanced stage? - This information will be shared by Dr. Quach Thanh Dung, an oncologist at Vinmec Times City International Hospital in the following article.

Colon cancer can begin anywhere in the colon, from the innermost layer of the intestinal wall, then invade outward through the layers of the intestinal wall, causing disruption of the intestinal wall, and then spreading to other parts of the colon. tissue around the tumor. The cancer cells then begin to spread to other organs of the body (also known as distant metastasis). Colon cancer often metastasizes to organs and organs such as the liver, lungs, bones, brain, especially the liver.

Colon cancer detected at a late stage has metastasized to extrahepatic organs, then the application of treatment methods has only limited effect, inhibiting the further growth of cancer cells. but no longer able to cure the radical. The main treatment at this stage is chemotherapy to kill and inhibit the growth of cancer cells, prolonging life. Surgery is also considered depending on the tumor location, the extent of cancer invasion to surrounding organs as well as the patient's physical, mental and comorbidities. Surgery at the metastatic stage is extremely difficult, in most cases the surgery is only temporary to address the complications of the disease.
When colon cancer has not metastasized, surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy treatment, the prognosis is very high. But when it has metastasized to internal organs (such as liver, lungs...) then not more than 20% of patients can live for more than 5 years.
In addition, the patient's survival time also depends on many factors:
Patient's condition Comorbidities such as lung, high blood pressure, cardiovascular,... Nutritional diet Psychology and cooperation We can rely on some of the following factors to answer the question of how long does metastatic colon cancer live.
Based on the age of the disease: Older people are often more likely to experience late-stage colon cancer when detected. However, there are also young people who still get cancer. For young people, the ability to develop tumors and metastases is faster than in the elderly. On the other hand, if young people are properly treated and have a positive mentality, their condition will be better. Lifetime may be longer. Depending on the disease state: the more invasive to other organs, the more difficult the treatment and the worse the prognosis. Based on the degree of cell differentiation; Poorly differentiated cells have a worse prognosis than highly differentiated cells.

As mentioned above, the treatment of metastatic colon cancer if effective, the patient can live more than 5 years. This case only accounts for 10 to 20%. That is, for every 100 people treated for colon cancer, only about 10 to 20 people can live after 5 years.
Currently with the advancement of medicine, there are many methods to treat metastatic colon cancer such as:
Surgery: In case the cancer has metastasized to a single organ, doctors often appoint surgery. tumor resection. In case the tumor has spread, causing complications such as bleeding or intestinal obstruction, surgery is only temporary. Radiation therapy: Usually not used in colon cancer, mainly used to relieve pain in cases with bone metastases. Chemotherapy: Using cytotoxic agents to destroy the tumor. In case the tumor has metastasized to another organ such as the liver, chemotherapy works to shrink the tumor so that doctors can surgically remove it. However, the degree of success depends on the type of cancer, the patient's condition, the ability to respond to chemotherapy.. Treatment with monoclonal antibody drugs: bevacizumab, cetuximab (in case there is no mutation). genes RAS, BRAF). Small molecule therapy: Regorafenib Immunotherapy: Pembrolizumab (in case of high MSI exposure)... In general, if colon cancer has spread to a single organ, then The treatment is also better. The patient's survival time is also longer.
In case the cancer metastasizes to many other organs in the body, the prognosis is poor, the 5-year survival rate is very low - less than 11%. Therefore, early detection of the disease is very important. Therefore, when there are any signs of colon cancer, you need to go to a reputable hospital to check and screen for cancer. Psychology also plays a very important role in the treatment of colon cancer. Patients with metastatic colon cancer need to keep themselves calm and optimistic. At the Oncology Department - Vinmec International General Hospital, the team of doctors always strives to control and use the best treatment methods to not only help patients prolong their survival time but also improve their quality of life. quality of life, finding a better outcome for the question of how long metastatic colon cancer lives.