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Pelé and Colon Cancer: Understanding a Diagnosis the World Followed
Football legend Pelé had a colon tumor removed in 2021, Al Jazeera reported. Here is a calm, plain-language look at colorectal cancer, drawn from the National Cancer Institute.
A plain-language summary based on public reporting and trusted sources, linked below.
Please note: this page is educational only — it is not medical advice, and it does not speculate about anyone’s health beyond reliable public reporting. For questions about your own health, talk with your healthcare team.
What was announced
Al Jazeera reported that Pelé had "a tumour removed from his colon in September 2021." He was admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo on November 29, 2022, and died there on December 29 at age 82. The hospital said he died "due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous medical condition."
His daughter Kely Nascimento wrote: "Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace."
Nothing more about his treatment was released, and nothing more is claimed here. What follows is about advanced colorectal cancer, the part of this disease that gets far less public explanation than screening does.
Where this cancer goes
When colorectal cancer spreads, the liver is the most common place it goes. NCI reports that about 50% of people with colon cancer will be found to have liver metastases, either when they are first diagnosed or later, when the cancer comes back.
The anatomy explains it. Blood leaving the bowel does not go straight back to the heart. It travels through the portal vein into the liver first. So the liver acts as the first filter, and cancer cells lodge there.
Stage IV is not one situation
Two people can both have stage IV disease and face very different plans.
When the spread is limited, surgery may be possible. NCI reports that surgery is curative in 25% to 40% of highly selected patients whose metastases in the liver or lung can be removed. Only some people meet those conditions.
When the spread is wider, treatment is usually with drugs, with the aim of controlling the cancer for as long as possible.
Asking your care team which of those two situations applies, and why, is a reasonable question at a stage IV diagnosis.
Tests on the tumor
Before drug treatment is chosen, the tumor tissue is usually tested for certain gene changes. NCI describes how these results matter. Drugs called anti-EGFR antibodies, such as cetuximab, do not work against tumors with KRAS changes, and NCI reports that they improve survival in people whose tumors lack those changes.
NCI also reports that about 4% of people with stage IV colorectal cancer have tumors that are mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite unstable (MSI-H). The FDA approved the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab for previously untreated metastatic tumors of this type in 2020.
If you are supporting someone through this, it is reasonable to ask which tumor tests were done and what each showed.
How far the numbers have moved
When fluorouracil (5-FU) was the only active chemotherapy drug, NCI notes, trials showed median survival of about 12 months. NCI reports that three randomized studies later found that adding irinotecan or oxaliplatin improved response rates, the time before the cancer grew, and overall survival.
For context, look at SEER, the National Cancer Institute's cancer surveillance program. It puts five-year relative survival for distant-stage colorectal cancer at 16.9%, against 91.3% when it is caught while still localized. Both come from people diagnosed in 2016 through 2022.
Get help now
If you have colorectal cancer, or are being tested for it, call 911 or go to an emergency room for:
- Severe belly pain with vomiting and not being able to pass gas or stool
- Heavy rectal bleeding, especially with dizziness, sweating, or a racing heart
- Trouble breathing
- Yellowing of the eyes or skin, especially with pain under the right ribs
Call your care team right away for:
- A fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher while on chemotherapy. A fever during chemotherapy is treated as an emergency.
- Any new or worsening symptom, such as shortness of breath, a cough that will not settle, a swollen belly, or rapid weight loss
The part that is preventable
Everything above describes disease that has already spread. Screening gets so much attention for a reason. This cancer usually begins as a polyp, a small growth on the bowel lining, which can be removed before it becomes anything.
CDC states that most people should begin colorectal cancer screening at age 45. Options include colonoscopy every 10 years, a yearly FIT stool test, FIT-DNA every 3 years, CT colonography every 5 years, or flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years.
Any of them beats none of them. The best test is the one you will actually complete.
Sources
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Put the story in context
Prevention, possible warning signs, screening, and diagnosis
This story relates to Colorectal cancer. The information below is general: it does not reveal anything else about a public person’s health, and not every point applies to every cancer. Personal advice depends on age, symptoms, family history, exposures, and medical history.
Prevention and risk reduction
Not every cancer can be prevented. Avoiding tobacco, protecting skin from ultraviolet radiation, limiting alcohol, staying active, and receiving recommended HPV or hepatitis B vaccination can lower the risk of certain cancers. A risk factor is not a prediction or a cause in one individual.
Symptoms and possible early signs
Possible signs vary and are often caused by conditions other than cancer. Changes worth discussing include a new lump, unexplained bleeding or weight loss, a persistent cough, lasting bowel or bladder changes, a changing skin spot, or symptoms that persist or worsen. Some early cancers cause no symptoms.
Screening and early detection
Screening looks for certain cancers before symptoms begin. Recommended tests exist only for some cancers and depend on age and risk. Screening can have benefits and harms; it is not the same as evaluating a new symptom, and there is no single routine scan or blood test that reliably screens for every cancer.
How cancer is diagnosed
Diagnosis may involve a history and exam, imaging, laboratory tests, and often a biopsy. Pathology can identify the cancer type and may test biomarkers that guide treatment. Symptoms, screening results, tumor markers, or online stories alone cannot confirm cancer.
Learn about this story’s cancer topic
A public story may encourage questions, but it should not be used to estimate your risk or choose testing. Contact a healthcare professional about a persistent or concerning change. Seek urgent care for severe or rapidly worsening symptoms.