Which colon cancer patients need chemotherapy after surgery?

  At present, the important event after colon cancer surgery is chemotherapy, those patients need chemotherapy, how to make patients cooperate with chemotherapy and how to overcome the fear of chemotherapy is a major issue in front of doctors and patients’ families.  In the current treatment mode of colon cancer, chemotherapy plays an important role to kill tumor cells, but it also brings various discomforts, and chemotherapy has risks, but most patients still benefit from it.  Regarding those patients who need chemotherapy, the 2015 edition of the Colorectal Cancer Treatment Protocol states that chemotherapy is recommended to be started within 8 weeks after surgery, and the time frame of chemotherapy should not exceed 6 months.  Adjuvant therapy is not recommended for stage I.  Stage II colorectal cancer without high-risk factors recommends follow-up observation or chemotherapy with fluorouracil alone, and chemotherapy is recommended for those with high-risk factors, and the chemotherapy regimen is recommended: 5-FU/LV, capecitabine, 5-FU/LV/oxaliplatin or CapeOx regimen.  Chemotherapy is recommended for stage III colorectal cancer with 5-FU/CF, capecitabine, FOLFOX or FLOX or CapeOx regimens.  The 8th edition of the People’s Health Press Surgery textbook chapter on colorectal cancer recommends chemotherapy regimens: FOLFOX or XELOX or MAYO regimens.  Some patients, due to their fear of chemotherapy, need to be fully communicated by their doctors, informing them of the various situations that may arise during chemotherapy and telling them how to deal with them, and crucially informing them of the benefits of chemotherapy. Generally speaking, doctors determine the chemotherapy regimen together with the patient based on the primary site of tumor, pathological type, and clinical tumor stage.  A standardized and appropriate chemotherapy will bring good prognosis and improve the survival time of the patient. Due to my working years, I myself followed up a 10-year postoperative rectal cancer patient after postoperative chemotherapy who is still doing well and has no recurrence.  Having colon cancer, standardized diagnosis, standardized treatment, regular follow-up and meeting an experienced surgeon who keeps learning is very important.