The metastases are the outbreak of cancer cells which formed an initial cancer, called primitive and developed by other part of the body. Metastasis of cancer is the final stage of spontaneous evolution of most cancers. The first step is the expand of the local initial cancer. The second stage is the spread to the lymph nodes through lymphatic ducts located in the tissues. Metastases proliferate faster than the initial cancer. They are also more resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Therapeutic strategies take also into account the risk of metastases Treatment often does not work if the metastases are numerous and are located to many parts of the body.

The same thing happens in colon cancer case. When colon cancer reaches the fourth stage of its evolution, it can spread to other organs and parts of the body. Usually, the organs affected by colon cancer metastases are the lung and the liver. So, colon cancer and focal lesions in the liver can be developed by the same patient who has diagnosed with the end stage of colon cancer. In these cases, treatment usually involves surgical intervention in the colon and the liver and chemotherapy before and after the surgery. In some cases the surgery can not be performed, and when many focal lesions are developed in the liver, the chances of cure are very low. If the cancer is very advanced, treatment may not work and so the disease can cause the patient death.



Metastatic tumors to the liver are very common in colon cancer patients and early detection is crucial for them. Colon cancer is one of a few malignant tumors in which the presence of limited synchronous liver metastases can allow surgical interventions. This depends on the number and localization of the liver metastases and the patient medical state. Surgery is very important because the 5-year survival of these patients is between 30 percent and 48 percent in comparison to a survival of less than 5 percent for patients with liver metastases that can not have a liver surgery.



However, the liver is the first organ where colon cancer spreads, followed by the lungs. At the time of diagnosis 10 to 20 percent of cancers had already metastases. Colon cancer and focal lesions in the liver are more difficult to treat when surgery can not be performed. Although chemotherapy techniques have improved in the last years, the survival rates are much lower when operation to remove the tumor can not be done. So, before the tumors grow in the liver, as they did in the colon, surgery can be and should be performed. This is way the detection of the cancer as quickly as possible is the most important element regarding colon cancer cure.