Colon Cancer Treatment Option Overview

There are different types of treatment for people with colon cancer.

Different types of treatments are available for colon cancer. You and your cancer care team will work together to decide your treatment plan, which may include more than one type of treatment. Many factors will be considered, such as the stage of the cancer, your overall health, and your preferences. Your plan will include information about your cancer, the goals of treatment, your treatment options and the possible side effects, and the expected length of treatment.

Talking with your cancer care team before treatment begins about what to expect will be helpful. You’ll want to learn what you need to do before treatment begins, how you’ll feel while going through it, and what kind of help you will need. To learn more, visit Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Treatment. 

The following types of treatment are used:

Surgery

Surgery is the most common treatment for all stages of colon cancer. The cancer is removed using one of the following types of surgery:

• Polypectomy: If the cancer is found in a polyp (a small piece of bulging tissue), the polyp is often removed during a colonoscopy.
• Local excision: If the cancer is found at a very early stage, the doctor may remove it without cutting through the abdominal wall. Instead, the doctor may put a tube with a cutting tool through the rectum into the colon and cut the cancer out. This is called a local excision.
• Resection of the colon with anastomosis: If the cancer is larger, the doctor will perform a partial colectomy (removing the cancer and a small amount of healthy tissue around it). The doctor may then perform an anastomosis (sewing the healthy parts of the colon together). The doctor will also usually remove lymph nodes near the colon and examine them under a microscope to see whether they contain cancer.
• Resection of the colon with colostomy: If the doctor is not able to sew the two ends of the colon back together, a stoma (opening) is made on the outside of the body for waste to pass through. This procedure is called a colostomy. A bag is placed around the stoma to collect the waste. Sometimes the colostomy is needed only until the lower colon has healed, and then it can be reversed. If the doctor needs to remove the entire lower colon, however, the colostomy may be permanent.
• Radiofrequency ablation: The use of a special probe with tiny electrodes that kill cancer cells. Sometimes, the probe is inserted directly through the skin, and only local anesthesia is needed. In other cases, the probe is inserted through an incision in the abdomen. This is done in the hospital with general anesthesia.
• Cryosurgery: A treatment that uses an instrument to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue. This type of treatment is also called cryotherapy. Learn more about Cryosurgery to Treat Cancer.

Radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy may be given before surgery to shrink the tumor, make it easier to remove the cancer, and help with bowel control after surgery. Treatment given before surgery is called neoadjuvant therapy. After all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery is removed, some patients may be given radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.

If the cancer has spread to the liver and cannot be removed by surgery, a total hepatectomy and liver transplant after chemotherapy may be done. Total hepatectomy and liver transplant is the removal of the entire liver by surgery, followed by a transplant of a healthy liver from a donor.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy (also called chemo) uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing.

Systemic chemotherapy is when chemotherapy drugs are taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle. When given this way, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body. Systemic chemotherapy used to treat colon cancer includes:

• (a vitamin that improves the effectiveness of 5-FU)

Combinations of these drugs may be used. Other chemotherapy drugs not listed here may also be used.

Chemotherapy may also be combined with other kinds of drugs. For example, it might be combined with the targeted therapy drug , , or .

Regional chemotherapy for colon cancer is when drugs are placed directly into the hepatic artery (the main artery that supplies blood to the liver) in a procedure called chemoembolization. Chemoembolization of the hepatic artery may be used to treat cancer that has spread to the liver. This is done by blocking the hepatic artery and injecting anticancer drugs between the blockage and the liver. The liver’s arteries then carry the drugs into the liver. Only a small amount of the drug reaches other parts of the body. The blockage may be temporary or permanent, depending on what is used to block the artery. The liver continues to receive some blood from the hepatic portal vein, which carries blood from the stomach and intestine.

The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

Learn more about how chemotherapy works, how it is given, common side effects, and more at Chemotherapy to Treat Cancer and Chemotherapy and You: Support for People With Cancer.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. Colon cancer is sometimes treated with two types of radiation therapy used to treat colon cancer:

• External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer.
• Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. Internal radiation therapy may be used to treat colon cancer that has spread to the liver.

Learn more about Radiation Therapy to Treat Cancer and Radiation Therapy Side Effects.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells. Your doctor may suggest biomarker tests to help predict your response to certain targeted therapy drugs. Learn more about Biomarker Testing for Cancer Treatment.

Targeted therapies used to treat colon cancer include:

Learn more about Targeted Therapy to Treat Cancer.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy helps a person’s immune system fight cancer. Your doctor may suggest biomarker tests to help predict your response to certain immunotherapy drugs. Learn more about Biomarker Testing for Cancer Treatment.

Immunotherapy drugs used to treat colon cancer include:

Learn more about Immunotherapy to Treat Cancer.

New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.

For some people, joining a clinical trial may be an option. There are different types of clinical trials for people with cancer. For example, a treatment trial tests new treatments or new ways of using current treatments. Supportive care and palliative care trials look at ways to improve quality of life, especially for those who have side effects from cancer and its treatment.

You can use the clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials accepting participants. The search allows you to filter trials based on the type of cancer, your age, and where the trials are being done. Clinical trials supported by other organizations can be found on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.

Learn more about clinical trials, including how to find and join one, at Clinical Trials Information for Patients and Caregivers.

Treatment for colon cancer may cause side effects.

For information about side effects caused by treatment for cancer, visit our Side Effects page.

Follow-up care may be needed.

As you go through treatment, you will have follow-up tests or check-ups. Some tests that were done to diagnose or stage the cancer may be repeated to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests.

Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back).

After treatment for colon cancer, a blood test to measure amounts of carcinoembryonic antigen (a substance in the blood that may be increased when cancer is present) may be done to see if the cancer has come back.