Category: Colorectal Cancer

Researchers in The Netherlands have developed a method of accurately predicting which patients with colon cancer are most likely to have their disease recur after surgery and who would, therefore, be likely to benefit from additional chemotherapy.

One of the best ways to encourage an individual to get screened for colorectal cancer is to use a personalized approach, according to researchers at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. A new study shows that simple, personalized interventions that guide recipients through the screening process can significantly improve colorectal cancer screening rates in primary care practices.Ronald Myers, Ph.D.

Researchers at the Zhejiang University, Hangzhou have discovered that mimecan and Thioredoxin Domain-Containing Protein 5 (TXNDC5) were differentially expressed in colorectal adenoma. The research article describing this work entitled “Differential Expression of Mimecan and Thioredoxin Domain-Containing Protein 5 in Colorectal Adenoma and Cancer: A Proteomic Study” will be featured in the October 2007 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.

An under used colon cancer screening test now available in the U.S. effectively detects colorectal cancer and may help to improve colon cancer screening rates, according to investigators at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study appears in the September 25, 2007 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).

Five-year follow-up overall survival data from the X-ACT (Xeloda in Adjuvant Colon Cancer Trial) study show that oral chemotherapy Xeloda(R) (capecitabine) is as effective as the current standard treatment - intravenous bolus 5-FU/LV (5-fluorouracil/ leucovorin) - in the adjuvant treatment of Dukes’ C colon cancer. These data were presented today at the 14th European Cancer Conference (ECCO) in Barcelona, Spain.

New data from the large international First BEAT trial unveiled today at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO) demonstrate that a high number of patients treated with Avastin plus standard chemotherapy for their colorectal cancer underwent complete surgical removal of their metastatic lesions. Complete removal of metastatic lesions was achieved in almost 80% of these patients, all of whom had been considered inoperable prior to the start of treatment.

Although European citizens appear to be generally aware of the importance of preventive medical checkups, the vast majority of them do not undergo colorectal cancer or prostate tests, an EU wide survey reveals. The Eurobarometer on “Health in the European Union,” published recently, which marks the European Prostate Awareness Day, indicates that only 13% of European men took the Prostate Specific Antigen Tests and only 8% of all respondents the colorectal cancer test.

In 2007, colorectal cancer will kill approximately 8700 Canadians. To draw attention to this situation, Dr. Alan Barkun, Director of the gastroenterology department at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Dr. Ken Flegel, service chief in internal medicine, have coauthored an editorial that will appear in the September 11, 2007 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Merck KGaA announced that it has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) to broaden the use of the targeted cancer therapy, Erbitux (cetuximab), to include first-line therapy for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the Western world. The tumor starts off as a polyp but then turns into an invasive and violent cancer, which often spreads to the liver. In an article recently published in the journal Cancer Research, Prof. Avri Ben-Ze’ev and Dr. Nancy Gavert of the Weizmann Institute’s Molecular Cell Biology Department reveal mechanisms that help this cancer metastasize.