Colon Cancer

Treatment in Arizona

At Mayo Clinic, surgery is the primary treatment for most patients with colon cancer. Mayo Clinic in Arizona participated in a study on colon cancer published in the May 14, 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that reported that when performed by experienced surgeons, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery is a safe and effective alternative to standard open surgery for most patients with cancer that is confined to the colon. Patients of Mayo Clinic who require hospitalization are admitted to Mayo Clinic Hospital in nearby northeast Phoenix.

Chemotherapy and external beam radiation are often combined with surgery in patients whose initial cancer has an increased risk of relapse if treated with surgery alone. This includes patients with tumor extension beyond the colon wall, involvement of lymph nodes or both.

Patients with locally advanced or locally recurrent colon cancers may require an aggressive approach that combines preoperative external beam radiation plus chemotherapy, surgery and intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). Mayo Clinic is the only medical center in the Southwest with a mobile Intraoperative Electron Radiation Therapy machine, the Mobetron. This provides patients with one of the world's most advanced and effective forms of radiation therapy as a supplement to external radiation with chemotherapy and maximal surgical removal. IORT is delivered after surgical removal of the cancer while noncancerous organs and tissues are surgically displaced.

Treatment Team

The treatment team for colon cancer patients at Mayo Clinic brings together health care professionals from Colon and Rectal Surgery, General Surgery, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hematology/Oncology and Radiation Oncology. This team of physicians has developed both diagnostic and treatment algorithms to serve as a guide for uniform evaluation and treatment of patients with colon cancer. The algorithms facilitate an individualized treatment plan for each patient.

Clinics are being developed that will allow patients with colon cancer to be seen in a single location by specialists in colon and rectal surgery, gastroenterology, radiation oncology and medical oncology, as needed. These clinics should result in improved patient education and efficiency and reduced confusion about treatment.

Appointments

For appointments or more information, call the Central Appointment Office at (800) 446-2279 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mountain time Monday through Friday, or complete an online appointment request form.