Colorectal News and Research

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Important player in the development of colon cancer

Cancer growth is a long, complex, multi-stage process involving a variety of different "players." This complexity is part of the difficulty facing cancer researchers. Meanwhile, each discovery or identification of a new "player," or previously unknown stage in the process, offers new opportunities for blocking the disease.

3 Mar 2005

New cancer drug Avastin keeps cancer under control

Data published for the first time today in the leading Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that the unique new cancer drug Avastin keeps cancer under control for a significantly longer duration, even when used in a group of elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer who are too sick to tolerate traditional aggressive chemotherapy.

1 Mar 2005

Protein called CK2 plays a deadly role in colorectal carcinoma

A protein called CK2 plays a deadly role in colorectal carcinoma by blocking the ability of these tumors to activate a natural self-destruct mechanism that would clear this cancer from the body. This finding, by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is currently published in the online edition of Oncogene.

24 Feb 2005

Study reveals need for change in surgical procedures

IPRO has announced progress in surgical infection prevention after the Archives of Surgery published a study highlighting the need for better, more consistent practices to address infection risk factors.

22 Feb 2005

Smple, painless test screens for early-stage colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is currently one of the deadliest forms of cancer -- but also one of the most treatable ... if caught early. There are diagnostic tests on the market today but they typically require extensive patient preparation and invasive procedures -- and often deliver inconclusive results.

22 Feb 2005

Single gene variant may increase a man's risk of prostate cancer by 50%

In 2001, Mount Sinai researchers published a study in Science that showed that a gene, known as KLF6, fails to function properly in at least 50 to 60 percent of all prostate cancers. This was the first single gene shown to be responsible for the majority of cases of this disease, which affects approximately 200,000 men each year.

16 Feb 2005

Coffee consumption may be associated with a decreased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

Two new studies in the February 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute examine the effects of coffee consumption on the incidence of liver and colorectal cancers. One study found that drinking coffee daily is associated with a decreased risk of liver cancer, while the other found no association between drinking coffee or tea and the risk of colorectal cancer.

15 Feb 2005

Novel genetic test helps detect mutations that may be missed by conventional DNA test

Researchers have identified a genetic test that when used with DNA testing would detect a higher number of genetic mutations in colorectal cancer patients, according to a study in the February 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical applications of biotechnology.

15 Feb 2005

Expanded HIV screening can increase patient life span

Expanded HIV screening can increase patient life span, prevent the spread of the disease, and is cost effective, researchers at Yale, Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital report in the February 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

10 Feb 2005

Babies who weighed more at birth had higher rates of digestive and lymphatic cancers in adulthood

Medical experts have proposed associations between birth size and rates of adult cancer. To examine this hypothesis, researcher Valerie A. McCormack and colleagues at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Universities of Uppsala and Stockholm investigated overall and site-specific cancer incidence in relation to birth characteristics in a Swedish population-based cohort.

7 Feb 2005

Research reveals a novel key player in the initiation of colon cancer

Gastric and colorectal cancers account for more than 1 million deaths worldwide every year and several research groups have been working to identify the molecular events that result in the initiation and progression of these tumors.

3 Feb 2005

Eleventh Edition of the Report on Carcinogens

The Department of Health and Human Services released its Eleventh Edition of the Report on Carcinogens today, adding seventeen substances to the growing list of cancer-causing agents, bringing the total to 246.

31 Jan 2005

Schering and Novartis agree on joint commercialization of novel cancer drug

Schering AG, Germany announced today that, following regulatory approvals, it will co-promote the novel oral angiogenesis inhibitor PTK787/ZK 222584 (PTK/ZK) for all oncology indications together with Novartis Pharma AG in Europe, North America and Japan. This agreement will enable both Schering and Novartis to maximize the compound's full potential.

25 Jan 2005