For Colon Cancer, Surgery May Not be Best Option

Posted on June 28, 2009 in Health & Medicine

Patients with metastatic colon cancer should begin chemotherapy before surgery, according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The new study suggests that chemotherapy alone is the most effective treatment, and in some cases surgery may prove unnecessary.

The researchers reviewed 233 cases and found that more than 90 percent of patients had no complications that required surgical intervention. Among those who did require surgery, only two had complications that made the procedure unsuccessful. The findings came from a retrospective analysis of patients whose cancer had spread beyond the original location.

Speaking to colleagues at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, Dr. Philip Paty called surgery an unnecessary and risky procedure for patients with colon cancer. Surgery delays the start of chemotherapy for several weeks, and may make the patient less physically tolerant of the treatment. Paty stressed that unless surgery was absolutely necessary, chemotherapy should be administered first.

About 147,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year, and almost 50,000 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.