Treatment for bowel (colon) cancer
A team of doctors and other professionals discuss the best treatment and care for you. They are called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). The team might include a:
bowel (colorectal) surgeon
medical cancer specialist or oncologist
bowel cancer nurse or clinical nurse specialist (CNS)
bowel cancer research nurse
stoma nurse
doctor who specialises in looking at scans (radiologist)
doctor who specialises in looking at cells under a microscope (pathologist)
MDT coordinator
Your doctor will talk to you about the treatment they suggest. They will explain its benefits and the possible side effects.
Your treatment will depend on:
where your cancer is
how big it is and whether it has spread (the stage)
the type of cancer
how abnormal the cells look under a microscope (the grade)
your general health and level of fitness
Most people have for colon cancer that hasn’t spread. The type of surgery you have for cancer of the large bowel (colon) depends on the position and the size of the cancer in your bowel.
Your surgeon might be able to take out all of your cancer. For some people this might cure the cancer.
Read about surgery for colon cancer
uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. The drugs circulate throughout the body in your bloodstream.
Your doctor might suggest that you have chemotherapy before, or after, surgery.
Chemotherapy before surgery can shrink the cancer to make it easier for to remove. This is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Your doctor might suggest you have chemotherapy to lower the chance of your cancer coming back after surgery. Chemotherapy aims to kill any cells left behind after your operation. This is called adjuvant chemotherapy.
Read more about chemotherapy for colon cancer
The stage of your cancer means how big it is and whether it has spread.
Surgery is the main treatment.
People with very early colon cancer (stage 1) do not need chemotherapy after surgery.
You have surgery to remove your cancer.
You might have chemotherapy before or after surgery.
You might have chemotherapy before surgery. This is if the MDT team think that it will improve the chance of your surgeon being able to remove all the cancer.
Your doctor might suggest chemotherapy after surgery if you are at higher risk of cancer coming back. This depends on the results of your surgery. Chemotherapy can lower the chance of your cancer coming back after surgery.
You have surgery to remove your cancer.
You might have chemotherapy before or after surgery.
You might have chemotherapy before surgery. This is if the MDT team think that it will improve the chance of your surgeon being able to remove all the cancer.
Your doctor might suggest chemotherapy after surgery if you are at higher risk of cancer coming back. This depends on the results of your surgery. Chemotherapy can lower the chance of your cancer coming back after surgery.
Your doctor might recommend:
surgery
chemotherapy
Find out more about treating bowel cancer that has spread
Doctors are always trying to improve treatments and reduce side effects. Your doctor might ask you to participate in a clinical trial as part of your treatment. This might be to investigate a new test, a new cancer treatment or to look at different combinations of existing treatments.
Your doctor will tell you if there are any trials that you can enter.
Get information on research and clinical trials for bowel cancer
Clinical trials are researching using targeted cancer drugs called monoclonal antibodies to treat bowel cancer that has not spread.
Monoclonal antibodies recognise and attach to specific proteins produced by cells. Each monoclonal antibody recognises one particular protein. They work in different ways depending on the protein they are targeting. So, some monoclonal antibodies might block particular proteins that encourage a cancer to grow and others might stop cancer cells from making their own blood supply.
Read about targeted cancer drugs
Jan had surgery to remove bowel cancer in 2021.
"The operation went very well. It was keyhole surgery. I was only in hospital for four days."
Last reviewed: 22 Jan 2025
Next review due: 22 Jan 2028
This section is about treatment for large bowel (colon) cancer that hasn't spread to another part of the body. The main treatments are surgery and chemotherapy.
The stage of a cancer tells you how far it has grown through the bowel wall and whether it has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other organs. It helps your doctor to know which treatment you need.
All treatments must be fully researched before they can be adopted as standard treatment for everyone. Find out about research into bowel (colorectal) cancer, as well as how to take part in clinical trials.
Living with bowel (colorectal) cancer may mean you have changes to your diet, sex life or body image. There is support to help you cope.
Bowel cancer is also called colorectal cancer. It affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.
Bowel cancer means cancer that starts in the colon (large bowel) or back passage (rectum). It is also known as colorectal cancer.
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