http://medicineworld.org/cancer/colon/colon-cancer-blog.html Colon cancer blog from medicineworld.org adds a personal touch to the stories related to colon cancer. This colon cancer blog brings you stories of hope, stories of survivors and latest news and research related to colon cancer. Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT en-us http://medicineworld.org/images/blogs/colon-cancer.jpg http://medicineworld.org/cancer/colon/colon-cancer-blog.html 128 90 http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/7-2011/genetic-mutations-that-lead-to-colon-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/7-2011/genetic-mutations-that-lead-to-colon-cancer.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center say there are at least 70 genetic mutations involved in the formation of colon cancer, far more than researchers previously thought. Based on the study, reported in the July 2011 Cancer Research (Priority Reports), scientists are suggesting a new approach to colon cancer therapys targeting multiple genes and pathways simultaneously. Current cancer therapys target just one or two known cancer-driver genes believing this would be beneficial to patients. While patients may get transient tumor burden reduction, almost universally tumor growth returns........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/7-2011/folate-colorectal-cancer-risk.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/7-2011/folate-colorectal-cancer-risk.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT A newly released study finds high folate intake is linked to a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, a finding consistent with the findings of most prior epidemiologic studies. The study is reassuring, as prior recent evidence has suggested that consumption of very high levels of folate through supplements and from folate-fortified diet may increase risk of some cancers. Nonetheless, the potential importance of folate in colorectal cancer prevention remains in question because at least one other study found folate supplementation had no effect on recurrence of colorectal adenomas, precursors to colorectal cancer........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2011/marriage-improves-odds-of-surviving-colon-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2011/marriage-improves-odds-of-surviving-colon-cancer.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT A newly released study shows that being married boosts survival odds for both men and women with colon cancer at every stage of the disease. Married patients had a 14 percent lower risk of death as per scientists at Penn State's College of Medicine and Brigham Young University. That estimate is based on analysis of 127,753 patient records........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/4-2011/utilization-of-virtual-colonoscopy-triples.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/4-2011/utilization-of-virtual-colonoscopy-triples.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Medicare coverage and nationwide utilization of computed tomographic colonography (CTC), usually referred to as virtual colonoscopy, has tripled in recent years, as per a research studyin the recent issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org). CTC employs virtual reality technology to produce a three-dimensional visualization that permits a thorough and minimally invasive assessment of the entire colon and rectum. CT colonography is an alternative to conventional optical colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2011/a-new-colon-cancer-marker.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2011/a-new-colon-cancer-marker.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT A research team at the University of Colorado Cancer Center has identified an enzyme that could be used to diagnose colon cancer earlier. It is possible that this enzyme also could be a key to stopping the cancer. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in Americans, with a one in 20 chance of developing it, as per the American Cancer Society. This enzyme biomarker could help physicians identify more colon cancers and do so at earlier stages when the cancer is more successfully treated........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2011/colorectal-cancer-screening-disparities.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2011/colorectal-cancer-screening-disparities.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Individuals from certain areas of the United States are more likely to get screened for colorectal cancer than those from other areas, especially when comparing non-whites living in different parts of the country. That is the conclusion of a newly released study published early online in Cancer, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society. Additional research is needed to better understand how colorectal cancer screening disparities develop in some regions and not in others........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/9-2010/body-weight-colon-cancer-mortality-link.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/9-2010/body-weight-colon-cancer-mortality-link.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Postmenopausal women diagnosed with colon cancer appears to be at increased risk of death if they fail to maintain a healthy body weight before cancer diagnosis, as per a research studyreported in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2010/screening-for-colorectal-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2010/screening-for-colorectal-cancer.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Despite evidence and guidelines supporting the value of screening for this disease, rates of screening for colorectal cancer are consistently lower than those for other types of cancer, particularly breast and cervical. Although the screening rates in the target population of adults over age 50, have increased from 20-30 percent in 1997 to nearly 55 percent in 2008 the rates are still too low. An NIH state-of-the-science panel was convened this week to identify ways to further increase the use and quality of colorectal cancer screening in the United States........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2010/virtual-colonoscopy-is-effective.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2010/virtual-colonoscopy-is-effective.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Computed tomographic colonography (CTC), also known as virtual colonoscopy, remains effective in screening older patients for colorectal cancer (CRC), produces low referral for colonoscopy rates similar to other screening exams now covered by Medicare, and does not result in unreasonable levels of additional testing resulting from extracolonic findings, as per a research studyreported in the recent issue of Radiology........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/12-2009/ct-imaging-taken-post-avastin.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/12-2009/ct-imaging-taken-post-avastin.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Using routine computed tomography (CT) imaging to analyze form and structural changes to colorectal liver metastasis after bevacizumab and chemotherapy may predict overall survival, as per research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The findings appear in the Dec. 2 issue of JAMA....... ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/8-2009/starving-the-colon-cancer-cells.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/8-2009/starving-the-colon-cancer-cells.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have discovered how two cancer-promoting genes enhance a tumor's capacity to grow and survive under conditions where normal cells die. The knowledge, they say, may offer new therapys that starve cancer cells of a key nutrient - sugar. However, the researchers caution that research does not suggest that altering dietary sugar will make any difference in the growth and development of cancer........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/8-2009/et-in-evaluating-colorectal-liver-metastases.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/8-2009/et-in-evaluating-colorectal-liver-metastases.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) announced recently that a study published in this month's Journal of Nuclear Medicine demonstrated the tremendous benefits of advanced imaging in the assessment of colorectal liver metastases. Dr. Theo Ruers lead a team of scientists in evaluating the benefits of F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) when combined with computed tomography (CT), and its ability to diagnose and stage hepatic growths far more effectively than standard CT alone. The study was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine annual meeting in 2008 and received the Siemens Award for Excellence in Practice-Based Research........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2009/surgery-for-late-stage-colon-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2009/surgery-for-late-stage-colon-cancer.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT A newly released study shows that a great majority of patients who present with advanced colorectal cancer that has spread to other organs (stage IV) don't require immediate surgery to remove the primary tumor in the colon. Scientists from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) presented their data today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2009/inadequate-bowel-prep-at-colonoscopy.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2009/inadequate-bowel-prep-at-colonoscopy.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Obesity is an independent predictor of inadequate bowel preparation at colonoscopy, and the presence of additional risk factors further increases the likelihood of a poorly cleansed colon, as per a newly released study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/4-2009/how-high-fiber-diet-protects-you-from-colon-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/4-2009/how-high-fiber-diet-protects-you-from-colon-cancer.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT Though a high-fiber diet has long been considered good for you and beneficial in staving off colon cancer, Medical College of Georgia scientists have discovered a reason why: roughage activates a receptor with cancer-killing potential. Scientists report in the recent issue of Cancer Research that the GPR109A receptor is activated by butyrate, a metabolite produced by fiber-eating bacteria in the colon. The receptor puts a double-whammy on cancer by sending signals that trigger cell death, or apoptosis, and shutting down a protein that causes inflammation, a precursor to cancer........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2009/predicting-recurrence-in-colorectal-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2009/predicting-recurrence-in-colorectal-cancer.html Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:58 GMT (PHILADELPHIA) Findings reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association by scientists at Thomas Jefferson University show that the presence of a biomarker in regional lymph nodes is an independent predictor of disease recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer. Detection of the biomarker, guanylyl cyclase 2C (GUCY2C), indicates the presence of occult metastases in lymph nodes that may not have been identified by current cancer staging methods, as per Scott Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University........ ]]>