Stage 3 colon cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or through the wall of your colon. Doctors commonly treat it with surgery followed by chemotherapy.
The most common staging system for colon cancer is called the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)’s TNM staging system. This staging system classifies colon cancer based on three factors:
- T: This is the size and extent of the primary tumor.
- N: This is whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
- M: This is whether the cancer has spread to distant tissues.
Stage 3 colon cancer is harder to treat than cancer discovered in the earlier stages, but it’s still curable for a large number of people.
Read on to learn more about stage 3 colon cancer, including how doctors stage it, its symptoms, and its treatment options.
Stage 3 cancer has spread to the lymph nodes near your colon or through the wall of your colon.
Stage 3 colon cancer can be further divided into stages 3A, 3B, and 3C, depending on the specific features of your cancer.
Here’s a look at how
| Stage | Features |
|---|---|
| Stage 3A Possibility 1 | • The cancer has grown through the muscular layer of the colon (muscularis mucosa) and into the next layer (submucosa). It may have also spread to the next muscle layer (muscularis propria). • It has spread to 1 to 3 nearby lymph nodes or fat near these lymph nodes. |
| Stage 3A Possibility 2 | • The tumor has grown through the muscularis mucosa into the submucosa. • The cancer has spread to 4 to 6 nearby lymph nodes. |
| Stage 3B Possibility 1 | • The cancer has grown into the outermost layers of the colon or through the colon’s wall. • The cancer hasn’t reached nearby organs. • The cancer has spread to 1 to 3 nearby lymph nodes or into areas of fat near these lymph nodes. |
| Stage 3B Possibility 2 | • The cancer has grown into the muscularis propria or into the outermost layers of your colon. • It has spread to 4 to 6 nearby lymph nodes. |
| Stage 3B Possibility 3 | • The cancer has grown through the muscularis mucosa into the submucosa. It might have also grown into the muscularis propria. • It has spread to 7 or more nearby lymph nodes. |
| Stage 3C Possibility 1 | • The cancer has grown through the wall of your colon but hasn’t reached nearby organs. • It has spread to 4 to 6 nearby lymph nodes. |
| Stage 3C Possibility 2 | • The cancer has grown into the outermost layers of your colon or through the wall of the colon. • It hasn’t reached nearby organs. • It has spread to 7 or more nearby lymph nodes. |
| Stage 3C Possibility 3 | • The cancer has grown through the wall of the colon or into other nearby tissues or organs. • It has spread to at least 1 nearby lymph node or into areas of fat near the lymph nodes. |
Doctors can’t identify the exact cause of most colon cancers. A combination of your genetics, lifestyle habits, and underlying medical conditions likely plays a role.
Although we don’t know exactly what causes colon cancer, we do know some risk factors for the condition.
These risk factors include:
- having overweight or obesity
- having type 2 diabetes
- eating a diet high in red meat
- not getting enough vitamin D (possibly)
- smoking
- drinking a lot of alcohol
Factors outside your control that increase your risk include:
- getting older
- having Ashkenazi Jew, American Indian, or Alaskan Native ancestry
- being male
- having your gallbladder removed
- having inflammatory bowel disease
- undergoing previous radiation to your abdomen or pelvis
- having a family history of colorectal cancer or adenomatous polyps
About
A few of the
| Syndrome | Risk of colon cancer |
|---|---|
| Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) | 90% by age 45 years |
| Attenuated FAP | 69% by age 80 years |
| Lynch syndrome | 10% to 56% by age 75 years |
Colon cancer becomes more likely to cause symptoms as the cancer becomes larger or more widespread.
The potential signs and symptoms of colon cancer include:
- bowel obstructions
- diarrhea
- constipation
- abdominal pain
- bright red blood in your stool
- dark brownish-black tarry stool
- rectal bleeding
- nausea and vomiting
- bloating or abdominal distention
- unintentional weight loss
- low red blood cell count (anemia)
The most common treatment for stage 3 colon cancer is surgery to remove the section of the colon with cancer, along with the affected lymph nodes nearby. This is usually followed by chemotherapy.
According to the
- FOLFOX, which involves administering:
- 5-FU
- leucovorin
- oxaliplatin
- CAPEOX, which involves administering:
- capecitabine
- oxaliplatin
Traditionally, doctors administer chemotherapy for 6 months for stage 3 colon cancers, but some evidence suggests that 3 months might be just as effective for some people. That’s also according to the ACS.
For some cancers that aren’t completely removable with surgery, you may receive chemotherapy or immunotherapy to shrink the cancer so that a surgeon can remove it later on.
Doctors sometimes recommend radiation therapy for people who aren’t healthy enough for surgery or when some of the cancer may have been left behind after surgery.
Doctors often use the 5-year relative survival rate to estimate the outlook for cancer. This statistic measures the likelihood that a person with cancer will live for at least 5 years compared with somebody without cancer.
In the United States, the 5-year relative
Here’s a look at the survival rates by stage:
| Stage | 5-year relative survival rate |
|---|---|
| Localized | 91.5% |
| Regional | 74.6% |
| Distant | 16.2% |
| All stages | 65.4% |
Stage 3 colon cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes and may have spread through your colon wall. It hasn’t yet spread to distant body parts.
Stage 3 colon cancer is often treatable with surgery and chemotherapy. Your doctor can talk with you about which treatment options may be best for you.