Treatment Options for Colon Cancer

Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ)
Stage I Colon Cancer
Stage II Colon Cancer
Stage III Colon Cancer
Stage IV and Recurrent Colon Cancer

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ)

Treatment of stage 0 (carcinoma in situ) may include the following types of surgery:

• Local excision or simple polypectomy.
• Resection and anastomosis. This is done when the tumor is too large to remove by local excision.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage 0 colon cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Stage I Colon Cancer

Treatment of stage I colon cancer usually includes the following:

• Resection and anastomosis.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I colon cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Stage II Colon Cancer

Treatment of stage II colon cancer may include the following:

• Resection and anastomosis.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage II colon cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Stage III Colon Cancer

Treatment of stage III colon cancer may include the following:

• Resection and anastomosis which may be followed by chemotherapy.
• Clinical trials of new chemotherapy regimens after surgery.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage III colon cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Stage IV and Recurrent Colon Cancer

Treatment of stage IV and recurrent colon cancer may include the following:

• Local excision for tumors that have recurred.
• Resection with or without anastomosis.
• Surgery to remove parts of other organs, such as the liver, lungs, and ovaries, where the cancer may have recurred or spread. Treatment of cancer that has spread to the liver may also include the following:
  • Chemotherapy given before surgery to shrink the tumor.
  • Radiofrequency ablation or cryosurgery, for patients who cannot have surgery.

• Radiation therapy or chemotherapy may be offered to some patients as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
• Chemotherapy and targeted therapy with a monoclonal antibody or an angiogenesis inhibitor.
• Clinical trials of chemotherapy and/or targeted therapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage IV colon cancer and recurrent colon cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.