How many courses of chemotherapy are needed after colon cancer surgery?

Normally, patients with colon cancer need 4-6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. The specific treatment depends on the patient's condition and physical condition.

1. General situation: For patients with early-stage colon cancer without lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis, after radical surgical resection, if the pathological examination results indicate low risk, adjuvant chemotherapy is not required; while for patients with medium- and high-risk, adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended;

2. Special types: For example, stage III rectal cancer cannot be cured by local excision because the tumor is deeply infiltrated and covers a large area. Therefore, it is necessary to completely remove the lesion and clear the regional lymph nodes. Combined treatment methods such as radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy can improve the survival rate and reduce the risk of recurrence.

3. Other factors: If the patient is older or has severe heart disease, the number of chemical drugs can be appropriately reduced, but sufficient dosage and time must be guaranteed. In addition, some doctors will use some targeted drugs as auxiliary therapies, such as bevacizumab injection, which inhibits the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) signaling pathway, thereby blocking the key steps in the process of angiogenesis, helping to prevent new blood vessel formation, improve the microenvironment, and enhance the anti-cancer effect.

In addition to the above reasons, it may also be related to improper diet. Therefore, when you have discomfort, you must seek medical treatment in time to avoid delaying the best treatment time. In daily life, you should pay attention to a light diet, avoid eating spicy and irritating foods, and pay attention to rest and get enough sleep, which is conducive to promoting recovery from the disease.