What Are the Stages of Colorectal Cancer?
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Fola May
In this program:
Colorectal cancer has different stages depending on what happens in the body. Dr. Fola May from UCLA Health explains colorectal cancer progression, the characteristics of each stage, and why early diagnosis is important.
Transcript
Interviewer:
So what are the stages of colorectal cancer?
Dr. Fola May:
There are many stages of colorectal cancer, and we usually use a staging system of 0 to IV when we talk about colorectal cancer, where stage 0 is the most limited stage of disease, and stage IV is the most advanced stage of disease. So stage 0 disease is the earliest stage that's really when the cancer is very much contained to that polyp. Stage I disease is when it is still contained to the lining of the colon, but it is beyond the space of the polyp or the small outgrowth stage II colorectal cancers are when the cancer, unfortunately, spreads beyond the lining of the colon. It hasn't yet spread to the lymph nodes, but it’s spread beyond the lining of the colon. And then stage III and IV, which are more advanced stages of the disease or when the colon cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and then spread through the lymph nodes and the blood to distant parts of the body. So our goal in colorectal cancer and prevention and control is to find people when they're at stage 0 or stage I because you're much more likely to survive. You're much more likely to have effective treatment options when we diagnose this cancer early.
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