Adjuvant Treatment: an Overview for Stage II, Stage III, Elderly Patients and Biotherapies

Adjuvant treatment is a particularly complex problem: a potentially toxic treatment administered to reduce the theoretical risk of relapse; what is the optimum treatment duration, which chemotherapy to choose and until what age, etc. Adjuvant treatments are enabling significant improvements in the survival of patients undergoing surgery for stage III colon cancer to be made, with the combination of fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin for six months being the standard therapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy after stage II colon cancer resection is not supported, however it should be discussed on a case per case basis, especially for "high risk" stage II cancers with a stable microsatellite status. A thorough assessment of the benefits and risks of adjuvant treatment should be carried out for each patient, taking into account their age and comorbidities. Currently, biotherapies do not have a role in the adjuvant treatment of colon cancers.