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. Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 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/cancer/lead/5-2008/virtual-biopsy-for-colon-polyp.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/virtual-biopsy-for-colon-polyp.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT A probe so sensitive that it can tell whether or not a cell living within the human body is veering towards cancer development may revolutionize how future colonoscopies are done, say scientists from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. Investigators have observed that technology known as a high resolution confocal endomicroscopy probe system can determine whether a colon polyp is non-malignant (not premalignant) - without having to remove it for examination by a pathologist........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/treatment-for-colorectal-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/treatment-for-colorectal-cancer.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT A new study being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago (Abstract #4020), may change therapy practice in about 25 percent of colon cancer patients and is the basis for proposed changes to the way colorectal cancers will be staged. This new study, using National Cancer Institute (NCI) SEER population-based statistic registries from 1992 to 2004, and phase III clinical trial data, shows that outcomes of patients with positive nodes (Stage III) in colorectal cancer interact, to a greater extent than previously thought, with how deeply the cancer penetrates the bowel wall........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/inherited-colon-cancer-mutation-is-widespread.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/inherited-colon-cancer-mutation-is-widespread.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT A gene mutation responsible for the most common form of inherited colon cancer is older and more common than formerly believed, as per a recent study. The findings provide a better understanding of the spread and prevalence of the American Founder Mutation, a common cause in North America of Lynch syndrome, a hereditary cancer syndrome that greatly increases a persons risk for developing cancers of the colon, uterus and ovaries........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/smoking-related-to-subset-of-colorectal-cancers.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/smoking-related-to-subset-of-colorectal-cancers.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Smoking puts older women at significant risk for loss of DNA repair proteins that are critical for defending against development of some colorectal cancers, as per research from a team led by Mayo Clinic scientists. In a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the scientists observed that women who smoked were at increased risk for developing colorectal tumors that lacked some or all of four proteins, known as DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins. These proteins keep cells lining the colon and rectum healthy because they recognize and repair genetic damage as well as mistakes that occur during cell division........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/colon-cancers-potential-for-metastasis.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/colon-cancers-potential-for-metastasis.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Some colon cancers are destined to spread to the liver and other parts of the body, whereas others are successfully treated by surgical removal of the tumor. Now, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have observed that the ability of a colon tumor to metastasize arises early in its development........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/3-2008/new-colorectal-cancer-gene.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/3-2008/new-colorectal-cancer-gene.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine scientists published a study in the March 7th issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics identifying the hereditary components of colorectal cancer (CRC.) Identification of Susceptibility Genes for Cancer in a Genome-wide Scan: Results from the Colon Neoplasia Sibling Study is the first large linkage study of families with CRC and colon polyps in the country. Because only five percent of CRC cases are due to known gene defects, this NIH-funded study is designed to identify the remaining CRC-related susceptibility genes. The team built on a prior study which identified a specific region on chromosome 9q that harbors a CRC susceptibility gene. Upon review of a whole genome scan of all chromosome pairs in 194 families, the scientists were able to identify additional CRC gene regions on chromosomes 1p, 15q, and 17p........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/3-2008/tests-that-prevent-colorectal-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/3-2008/tests-that-prevent-colorectal-cancer.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT New consensus colorectal cancer guidelines released recently state for the first time that the primary goal of colorectal cancer screening is cancer prevention. Prior guidelines have given equal weight to tests for detecting cancer and preventing cancer. By removing polyps from the large bowel, colonoscopy is the only screening test that also prevents colorectal cancer........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/2-2008/5-fluorouracil-in-colonic-neoplasm.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/2-2008/5-fluorouracil-in-colonic-neoplasm.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a common chemotherapeutical drug. It exerts its antitumor effect through competitive thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibition. Thymidylate synthase (TS) catalyses deoxyuridine-5-monophosphate (dUMP) to 2-deoxythymydine-5-monophosphate (dTMP). It is the only de novo source of thymidylate, an essential precursor of DNA biosynthesis. In the 5-untranslated region of TS gene, there a unique tandem repeated sequence. There are three predominant genotypes of TS: (1) Homozygous with two tandem repeats (2R/2R); (2) homozygous with three tandem repeats (3R/3R); (3) heterozygous with both alleles (2R/3R). It was reported that TS genes with the triple repeats have higher expression activity than those with double repeats in vitro and in vivo........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/2-2008/cancer-deaths-down-but.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/2-2008/cancer-deaths-down-but.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT New data revealing decreasing trends in cancer deaths in the United States overall, and in colorectal cancer deaths in particular, highlight the remarkable benefits of colorectal cancer screening tests, but the lifesaving potential of these tests is unrealized for a number of Americans as per experts from the American College of Gastroenterology. Racial minorities, uninsured Americans and even Medicare patients who should be tested are not being screening appropriately, and other recent studies reveal that they are diagnosed with more advanced cancers in comparison to patients with private insurance........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/2-2008/earlier-colon-cancer-screening-for-smokers.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/2-2008/earlier-colon-cancer-screening-for-smokers.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT New evidence suggests screening for colorectal cancer, which is now recommended to begin at age 50 for most people, should start five to 10 years earlier for individuals with a significant lifetime exposure to tobacco smoke, a University of Rochester Medical Center study said. An examination of 3,450 cases observed that current smokers were diagnosed with colon cancer approximately seven years earlier than people who never smoked. The study is also one of the first to link exposure to second-hand smoke, particularly early in life, with a younger age for colon cancer onset........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/12-2007/colon-cancer-screenings-may-not-pay-off.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/12-2007/colon-cancer-screenings-may-not-pay-off.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Even though current guidelines advocate colorectal cancer screenings for those with severe illnesses, they may bring little benefit and may actually pose harm, as per a recent study by Yale School of Medicine scientists reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study offers a new approach for assessing who is likely to benefit from a screening so that screening recommendations can be tailored more effectively to individual patients........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/12-2007/underuse-of-colorectal-cancer-screening.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/12-2007/underuse-of-colorectal-cancer-screening.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Two recently released studies confirm an alarming reality, that a majority of Americans who should be getting screened for colorectal cancer are not. Men and women over the age of 50 should be screened for colorectal cancer, but as per a research studyin the journal Cancer, scientists observed that among an assessment of Medicare beneficiaries between 1998 and 2004, only 25.4 percent of people were screened, despite Medicare coverage for colorectal cancer screening. As per figures released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, only half of all Americans age 50 and over have had a screening colonoscopy........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/11-2007/grape-powder-blocks-genes-linked-to-colon-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/11-2007/grape-powder-blocks-genes-linked-to-colon-cancer.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Low doses of freeze-dried grape powder inhibit genes associated with the development of sporadic colorectal cancer, University of California, Irvine cancer scientists found. The study suggests that a diet rich in grapes may help prevent the third most common form of cancer, one that kills more than a half a million people worldwide each year. Around 7 percent of all Americans develop colon cancer during their lifetimes........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2007/a-possible-biomarker-for-colon-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2007/a-possible-biomarker-for-colon-cancer.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT An abnormality of chromosomes long linked to diseases of aging has, for the first time, been associated with colon cancer in people 50 years old and younger, an age group commonly considered young for this disease. The finding may provide an early alert for younger colon cancer patients and could prompt new research into colon cancer prevention and therapy strategies, say Mayo Clinic researchers........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2007/first-colonoscopy-with-removal-of-polyps.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2007/first-colonoscopy-with-removal-of-polyps.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Using a model to predict reductions in death from colorectal cancer, epidemiologists and clinical scientists from Memorial Sloan-Kettering looked at the relative effect of an initial screening colonoscopy which clears pre-malignant polyps from the colon versus surveillance follow-up colonoscopy. Ann G. Zauber, Ph.D., Sidney J. Winawer, M.D., MACG and his colleagues presented their findings at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2007/colon-cancer-work-inside-cells.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2007/colon-cancer-work-inside-cells.html Thu, 22 May 2008 03:53:44 GMT Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a potentially novel way to fight colorectal cancer using tiny molecules to deliver potent barrages of radiation inside cancer cells, unlike current therapys that bind to the surface of cells and attack from the outside and cause unwanted side effects. In laboratory studies with normal and cancer cells, the new radiation delivery system proved able to specifically target colon cancer cells, and whats left over is likely to be easily filtered out by the kidneys because the delivery systems molecules are so small........ ]]>