Metastatic Colon Cancer Prognosis

Metastatic colon cancer is a cancer that spreads beyond the colon to other organs in the body. Patients with metastatic colon cancer have low rate of survival and are very likely to die within 5 years of the initial diagnosis.

Prognosis

• The 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer is projected to be roughly 30 percent.

History

• According to the Journal of Clinical Oncology, in 2009 prognosis of patients with metastatic colon cancer has improved significantly over the past two decades. The 5-year survival increases from 9 percent for patients diagnosed in the 1990s to 19 percent for patients diagnosed between 2001 and 2003, and 30 percent for patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2006.

Types

• Metastatic colon cancer can occur in liver, lung, brain and bones. According to the National Cancer Institute, roughly 50 percent of metastatic colon cancers occur in liver.

Gender Difference

• According to Division of Medical Oncology and Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, in 2009 younger women with metastatic colon cancer survive longer than younger men, while older (postmenopausal) women have a worse survival rate than older men.

Significance

• With recent improvements in treatments, more than half of patients diagnosed with colon cancer will live more than two years after diagnosis. It is believed that with the introduction of new chemotherapy drugs, life expectancy following diagnosis of patients diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer will be extended further.