For patients under 80 with pathologic stage III colon cancer, when is adjuvant chemotherapy recommended to begin?

For patients under 80 with pathologic stage III colon cancer, the recommendation to begin adjuvant chemotherapy is within 4 months after surgery. This timeline is crucial because initiating therapy within this period has been associated with improved survival outcomes.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is typically started as soon as it is safely possible after surgical resection of the tumor, usually after the patient has recovered from the surgery. Delaying chemotherapy beyond this recommended time frame can lead to potential disease progression, which could negatively impact prognosis. Research has demonstrated that starting treatment within this window is optimal for enhancing disease-free survival rates in patients with stage III colon cancer, making the 4-month cutoff a standard practice in oncological care.