Colon cancer UICC stage 2 | Stages of colon cancer and their prognosis

Colon cancer UICC stage 2

Stage 2 tumours in the UICC classification are tumours that have not yet spread to other organs or lymph nodes, but are larger locally in the intestine than in stage 1, i.e. they are stage T3 or T4 cancers. In these stages, the tumour has already spread to the outermost layer of the intestinal wall or into the fatty tissue surrounding the intestine. In stage T4, the tumour has already infiltrated the peritoneum or other organs in the vicinity.

Even if the examinations did not initially reveal that the cancer has spread to other organs or lymph nodes, it is not unlikely that the examination of the removed tumour will reveal affected lymph nodes. In some cases, metastases may already exist, but these are still quite small and are only detected later when they have grown further. However, this does not have great consequences for the therapy, since in both cases, radiation and chemotherapy are used in addition to the surgical removal of the tumour.

The chances of recovery are still quite high, even in stage 2, at around 60-85% – provided that the tumour has not already spread to lymph nodes or metastasised. In contrast to stage 1, the tumour is treated with chemotherapy and radiation in addition to the operation. Radiation or chemotherapy is administered before the operation and chemotherapy is added after the operation. The exact scheme of the radiation or chemotherapy is decided individually with the doctor.

Colon cancer UICC stage 3

Stage 3 is defined independently of the local size of the tumour. The decisive factor is whether the tumour has spread to surrounding lymph nodes. This is a bad sign, as the tumour can spread throughout the body via the lymph channels.

Unfortunately, in many cases the tumour has already spread to lymph nodes. Usually this can only be determined in pathology after the operation on the basis of the removed tumour. If the lymph nodes affected are present, the chances of recovery are reduced.

As in the first two stages, surgery is performed in which the cancer is excised. The therapy is supplemented by chemotherapy or radiation in advance, and after the operation another chemotherapy is administered. This makes the therapy of stage 3 colon cancer a lengthy, intensive and exhausting process.

The treatment can take more than a year. In stage 3, 40 to 50 patients out of 100 sufferers live after 5 years. Individual factors are also important for the chances of recovery in this stage.

These include, for example, the age of the patient or the general physical condition. After all, the fight against colon cancer requires a lot of strength and robs the body of a lot of energy. Many cancer patients lose weight during the disease phase.

In addition, the body is additionally attacked by the strong drugs that are necessary to treat the cancer. Furthermore, it varies from person to person how chemotherapy is tolerated. Some patients have to stop chemotherapy because of side effects, while others tolerate chemotherapy relatively well.

Finally, intestinal cancers differ, the development of which is based on different mutations (gene alterations). This leads to the fact that they respond to the therapy to different degrees. Thus, in addition to the quality of the therapy, there are many factors that cannot be influenced and that determine whether the fight against cancer is successful or not.