Newschannel 8 Morning Edition Colorectal Cancer Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in this country.
Most colorectal cancers develop slowly over several years.
At this stage, five-year survival rates drop to 65 percent. When colorectal cancer spreads, one of the most common sites of metastases is the liver. Often the patient doesn't know the liver is affected because there aren't any symptoms until the tumor gets very large. But only 25 percent of these patients remain free of any cancer recurrences. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center are testing a new treatment that seems to improve the outcome for colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases.