In medicine constant research is needed. There are many transformations that occur every day in the area of research. New diseases are discovered and new medicines and drugs are needed. Although, colon cancer is not a new disease, still there is no certain cure for it. In most cases surgery is the solution, but when the cancer has spread and the stage in which it is diagnosed is an advanced one, surgery may not be possible. Then chemotherapy is a solution.



In colon cancer researches are always done, because the disease affects a big number of individuals every year. Experts are looking for ways to prevent the disease, to discover it and to treat it when it is already developed. For example, doctors and researchers have found out that there are some gene changes that can affect the efficiency of a particular treatment.

Colon cancers in which the genes process changes interfere are not likely to be cured or helped by certain drugs such as cetuximab or panitumumab. Today, the discoveries made in the medical area can prevent this particular situation. Tests can be made regarding the gene changes and so unnecessary treatment not being applied.

Other studies have found that people who take multi-vitamins containing folic acid, vitamin D supplements, or calcium may have a lower colon cancer risk than people who do not. These supplements can be taken as a certain treatment or only as an additional one. However, researches have shown that people who have a healthy diet can reduce the risks of developing colon cancer. Also, smoking influence in getting the disease is considered a risk factor if it has been an individual habit for many years.

Because the primary treatment in colon cancer cases is surgery, researchers are continuing to improve their techniques and methods for operating. They now have a better knowledge and understanding of what makes colon cancer surgery more likely to success. In surgery, there have to be removed all the lymph nodes that were affected by the disease.

A new surgery type is the laparoscopic intervention. This kind of surgery is done through several small incisions in the abdomen instead of one large one. Practices have show that this technique is more suitable for some colon cancers cases. This approach, most of the times, allows patients to recover faster, without any pain, or at least with less pain than an operation.

The latest colon cancer researches have developed several vaccines with the willingness to treat colon cancer or to prevent it from reoccurring after it has been removed through a particular type of treatment. Unlike vaccines that usually prevent infectious diseases, these vaccines are meant to boost the patient's immune reaction to be able to fight colon cancer in an efficient way.