Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States. Colon cancer is classified as stage IV if the cancer has spread (metastasized) beyond the colon to other organs in the body.
Survival Rate
According to a 2004 study published in "Journal of the National Cancer Institute," the 5-year survival rate of stage IV colon cancer is estimated to be roughly 8.1 percent. In other words, only 1 in 12 patients will survive more than 5 years after diagnosis of stage IV colon cancer.
Prevalence
Nineteen percent of colon cancer patients are diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, according to data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) website.
History
Survival rates for patients with stage IV colon cancer have improved significantly in the past decade. The median length of survival of patients diagnosed now is almost twice that of patients diagnosed in the early 1990s, according to the book "Clinical Oncology." Median is the value that separates the higher half of the sample from the lower half.
Types
Prognosis of stage IV colon cancer patients depends on the organ(s) affected by metastatic colon cancer. The organs most commonly affected by metastatic colon cancer are liver, lung and brain. According to Cancer.gov, half of patients diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer have liver metastases.
Treatment
Treatment options for stage IV colon cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. For a small number of patients diagnosed with hepatic (liver) metastases, surgical resection or ablation of hepatic metastases can result in 5-year survival rates of 25 to 40 percent, according to Cancer.gov.
