Colon cancer

Colon cancer is a frequent form of cancer with an increasing incidence in old age. Screening colonoscopy is effective in detecting colon cancer at an early stage. There are also predisposing genetic factors that encourage colon cancer as well as other cancer entities. Histologically, colon cancer is an adenocarcinoma, which predominantly originates from three mutation and signal pathways. The staging is based on endoscopy with histological confirmation as well as imaging of the thorax and abdomen. The treatment of choice for localized tumors is the primary resection with complete mesocolic excision, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy if lymph nodes are involved. In a resectable metastatic stage, neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by sequential resections of metastases and the primary tumor are usually carried out. Chemotherapy is based on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), frequently combined with platinum derivatives and antibodies. In palliative treatment and later treatment lines, regimens include a wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents, immunotherapy and antibodies.