The Landmark Series: Chemotherapy for Non-Metastatic Colon Cancer.

Micrometastatic disease that is present at the time of surgery is responsible for the overwhelming majority of deaths in patients with what is otherwise perceived to be local and regional colon cancer. The goal of perioperative therapy is to eliminate microscopic residual disease that would otherwise be left behind following surgery. A secondary goal specific to neoadjuvant (preoperative) therapy is to downstage tumors deemed potentially not amenable to an R0 resection on the basis of a suspected T4b primary (locally invading into a surrounding structure). In this landmark series paper, we review the current standard for perioperative therapy in patients with colon cancer.