What Are the Survival Rates for Colon Cancer?

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), one of the most important factors in determining your chances of surviving colon cancer is how far your cancer has spread when you begin treatment. The more localized your cancer, the greater your chances of surviving.

Stages

• "Stage" is the word oncologists use to describe how far cancer has spread throughout the body. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), colon cancer develops in stages 0 to four.

Localized Cancer

• Colon cancers in stage 0 or one are confined to the inner wall of the colon. The NCI states the five-year survival rate for localized colon cancer is 90.8 percent.

Regional Cancer

• Colon cancers in stages two or three indicate that the tumor has at least spread deep into the colon wall (stage two) or into nearby lymph nodes, but not to other areas. The NCI reports the five-year survival rate for these regional cancers is 69.5 percent.

Distant Cancer

• Stage four colon cancers have spread to other parts of the body. The NCI says that the five-year relative survival rate for distant colon cancers is 11.3 percent.

General Survival

• The overall five-year survival rate for colon cancer is 65.2 percent, according to the NCI.