Successfully removed stage 4 cancer of rectum

20 Aug, 2020

What is rectum and cancer of rectum

Rectum is the last 6-7 inches of large bowel that leads undigested food to anus in the human digestive system.

Rectal cancer occurs when cancer cells form in the wall of rectum and can grow uncontrolled inside rectum or even spread to nearby organs.

The cause of rectal cancer is not known but the risk increases with age.

What is treatment of stage 4 rectal cancer

There are 4 stages of rectal cancer depending on level of spread of disease. Stage 1 and 2 are considered early rectal cancer. Stage 3 and 4 are considered advanced rectal cancer.

Surgery is the mainstay of treatment of all stages of rectal cancer. For advanced rectal cancer, preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy are needed in most patients. Patients may also benefit from immunotherapy and target therapy after the surgery for removal of rectal cancer.

Is successful treatment of patient with advanced rectal cancer possible ?

Most patients with rectal cancer have good survival with treatment. Stage IV rectal cancer needs to be subclassified into potentially curable and non curable disease and treated accordingly.

Staged surgery in combination with judicious use of multimodality treatment (including chemotherapy, targeted therapy and radiation therapy) can help achieve cure even in stage IV colorectal cancer in selected patients.

Do old patients (> 70 yr ) recover from surgery for rectal cancer?

An eighty year old patient who is a doctor himself underwent treatment of stage 4 rectal cancer with Dr Vivek mangla. After careful details and good preparation, the patient underwent single surgery to remove rectal tumoraswell as tumor in liver ( spread from primary rectal tumor). A PETCT done 1 year after the surgery for rectal cancer did not show any evidence of rectal cancer in the colon or liver or anywhere else in the body.