Clinical pathological staging of colon cancer

The purpose of understanding the staging of colon cancer is to understand its development status in order to guide the formulation of treatment plans and evaluate prognosis. Currently, the commonly used staging methods are the modified Dukes staging method and the TNM staging method.

1. Modified Dukes staging of colon cancer

my country has supplemented the Dukes staging system for colon cancer, which is generally clinically divided into four stages: A, B, C, and D. Stage C can be further divided into two stages: C1 and C2 according to the presence of lymph node metastasis. Stage A refers to cancer foci confined to the intestinal wall; stage B refers to cancer foci penetrating the intestinal wall and invading the serosa or outside the serosa, but without lymph node metastasis; stage C1 refers to lymph node metastasis limited to the vicinity of the colon wall; stage C2 refers to lymph node metastasis that has developed to the mesentery and the root of the mesentery; stage D refers to abdominal or distant metastasis, or widespread involvement of adjacent tissues and organs that cannot be surgically removed.

2. TNM staging of colon cancer

T stands for primary tumor, TX stands for primary tumor that cannot be estimated; T0 stands for no evidence of primary tumor; Tis stands for carcinoma in situ; T1 stands for cancer involving the submucosal layer; T2 stands for cancer involving the muscularis propria; T3 stands for cancer that has penetrated into the serosa; and T4 stands for cancer that has penetrated the peritoneum or has involved other tissues and organs.

N stands for regional lymph nodes, NX stands for lymph nodes that cannot be estimated; N0 stands for no lymph node metastasis; N1 stands for less than 3 regional lymph nodes involved; N2 stands for 4 or more lymph nodes involved.

M represents distant metastasis, MX represents distant metastasis that cannot be estimated, M0 represents no distant metastasis, and M1 represents distant metastasis that has occurred.

In clinical applications, the T, N, and M conditions are combined together to represent the development status of the tumor.