What is advanced colorectal cancer?

The colon and rectum are parts of the large bowel. In this section, we use the term colorectal cancer as it describes a cancer of either the colon or the rectum.

In advanced colorectal cancer, cancer cells which have developed in the large bowel, have spread outside the bowel or to another part of the body. When cells have spread to another part of the body from their original site they are called a secondary or metastasis. The most common parts of the body for colorectal cancer to spread to are the liver and the lungs.