What are the stages of colon cancer

Colon cancer is a malignant tumor originating from the colon mucosal epithelium. The high-risk population is mostly people aged 40-50. Among malignant tumors, it is a relatively common one. The mortality rate of colon cancer is second only to lung cancer and liver cancer, which seriously endangers people's health. So, how is colon cancer staged?

Colon cancer stages

Modified Dukes staging system for colon cancer:

Stage A: Cancer is confined to the intestinal wall.

Stage B: Cancer penetrates the intestinal wall and invades the serosa or (and) outside the serosa, but there is no lymph node metastasis

Stage C: There is local lymph node metastasis, of which those limited to the tumor and paraintestinal lymph nodes are stage C1, and those metastasized to the mesenteric and mesenteric root lymph nodes are stage C2.

Stage D: There is distant metastasis or abdominal metastasis, or invasion of adjacent organs that cannot be removed.

TNM staging proposed by UICC for colon cancer staging:

Tx: Unable to estimate the primary tumor. T0: No evidence of tumor. Tis: Carcinoma in situ. T1: Tumor invades the submucosal layer or muscularis mucosa. T2: Involvement of the muscularis propria. T3: Invasion of the subserosa. T4: Penetration of the serosa.

Nx: estimated lymph node number. N0: no lymph node metastasis N1: 1 to 3 regional lymph node metastasis N2: 4 or more regional lymph node metastasis

Mx: Distant metastasis cannot be estimated. M0: No distant metastasis. M1: Distant metastasis exists.

Experts point out that a reliable and accurate staging system for colon cancer will hopefully guide us to clearly formulate reasonable treatment strategies. In addition, the TNM staging system reflects the clinical and pathological conditions more accurately and in detail than the Dukes staging system, and emphasizes the depth of local tumor infiltration, the number and location of lymph node metastasis, and whether there is distant metastasis.