The main progress in surgical oncology regarding colonic cancer has been made by standardizing the mode of resection: En block resection of the tumor-bearing colon segment together with the draining lymph nodes, including the lymph nodes at the origin of the respective main vessel, is mandatory. Minimal invasive surgery is an option for resection, however, results of ongoing multicenter trials have to clarify the situation. Adjuvant therapy is used for patients in stage III, who are not included in studies. Since quality of surgery has a major influence on prognosis, this factor also needs to be taken into account when judging the impact of adjuvant therapy. New chemotherapeutic agents have been proven to be valid for palliative and probably also for adjuvant treatment. Prophylactic surgery is routine for patients with ulcerative colitis and FAP, the benefit for patients with HNPCC has to be further evaluated. New knowledge on the individual prognosis might optimize treatment; most probably this will be accomplished by detection of minimal residual disease. The impact of the sentinel node concept in colon cancer is unclear. New progress will be possible by an approach adapted to the individual problem together with accumulating and linking experience and knowledge.