Stages of Colon Cancer

Staging or stages of Colon Cancer is defined by the extent or spread of the disease and is helpful when prescribing a treatment protocol.

Dukes Staging:

Dukes A to D, often referred to as simply Stage 1 to 4 is described below.

Dukes A: This stage is defined when the cancer is contained within the bowel

Dukes B: At this point the cancer has spread through the bowel muscle, however the lymph nodes are still unaffected.

Dukes C: This satge is identifies when the cancer has spread to one or more lymph nodes

Dukes D: This is when the cancer is more advanced and has spread to other parts of the body. Cancers are now often called secondary.

There are other staging models depending on the type of cancer and sometimes preference of individual consultants.