Prognosis of Rectal Cancer


The prognosis for people with a diagnosis of rectal cancer depends on the stage at which the cancer was detected. Early detection means that the cancer has not spread to the surrounding organs (metastasis), increasing chances of it being cured. The risk of metastasis increases with increased penetration of the cancer into the bowel walls. In cases where the cancer has not penetrated into the bowel walls, surgery is often the only treatment required. Such cases have a long term survival rate of over 80%. In cases where the cancer has spread beyond the bowel walls, the five year survival rate falls to under 10%. 
Frequently asked questions
References
  1. Maria Giulia Zampino, Roberto Labianca, Giordano Beretta, Gemma Gatta, Katia Lorrizo, Filippo de Braud, Jacques Wils, Rectal cancer, Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, Volume 51, Issue 2, August 2004, Pages 121-143, ISSN 1040-8428, 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2004.03.004.
  2. E.M. Tweedle, P.S. Rooney, A.J.M. Watson, Screening for Rectal Cancer – Will it Improve Cure Rates?, Clinical Oncology, Volume 19, Issue 9, November 2007, Pages 639-648, ISSN 0936-6555, 10.1016/j.clon.2007.07.002.
  3. Rob Glynne-Jones, Pawan Mathur, Colin Elton, Matthew L. Train, Multimodal treatment of rectal cancer, Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology, Volume 21, Issue 6, December 2007, Pages 1049-1070, ISSN 1521-6918, 10.1016/j.bpg.2007.11.003.