Stage 4 bowel cancer

You can find information about advanced bowel cancer on our website, including our Treating advanced bowel cancer booklet. You can also join our Living with stage 4 bowel cancer Facebook group.

AwkwardTurtle

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relative 26^th July 4.13 pm

Help with terms

Hi 👋🏼

We have just received a letter from my dad’s consultant. Can anyone help me with some of the wording?

It states

Moderately differentiated?
MSI stable?
KRAS?
NRAS?
BRAF wild type?

I have searched but can’t seem to get an answer that I can comprehend!

Thank you!
R

Lirio345

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moderator 26^th July 4.45 pm

Hi @AwkwardTurtle, there are three grades of tumour development and moderately differentiated means it is in the middle and doesn’t typically grow particularly quickly.

The others are all types of genes that are involved in Bowel cancer tumour formation. Assuming they are all wild type, it means there are no mutations. If however the question marks were actually on the letter (and not added by you) I would guess that the pathology is not back yet.

This information is important as it can influence which treatment is most like to help.

The link below might help:

bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/...ncedBowelCancer_BowelCancerUK.pdf

Keep asking though, - it will honestly become more familiar, Kim

AwkwardTurtle

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relative 26^th July 5.25 pm

Hi Kim,

Thank you for that link it was very helpful. So much information the mind boggles!!

The question marks were added by me ☺️

Thanks again

Lirio345

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moderator 26^th July 5.56 pm

Hi again @AwkwardTurtle, I am glad that helped. Luckily there is not an exam in Bowel cancer terminology to be taken, but it amazing how our vocabulary increases somewhat! If you added the question marks then it appears that your dad has none of these genes in the mutated form and is wild type for all of them.

Take very good care and please stay in touch, Kim