Colon Cancer

Every year, about one million new cases of colon cancer are diagnosed worldwide. About 150,000 new cases are detected each year in the United States. Over a lifetime, about 1 in 19 people develop colon cancer and nearly 50,000 people are expected to die from it in the U.S. this year.

What Causes Colorectal Cancer?

Cancer occurs when a normal cell divides and multiples uncontrollably. Normally cells are regulated in their growth, maturity, division and death by the DNA present in their nucleus. With damage to the DNA the cells may become rogue and multiply uncontrollably to give rise to tumors.

What is Colorectal Cancer?

Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis

Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Colorectal Cancer Management

Colorectal Cancer Prognosis

Colorectal Cancer Symptoms

Latest Colon Cancer News and Research

Treatment with a cannabinoid prevented the development of colon cancers in mice

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are caused by unrestrained inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

15 Sep 2020

Study shows lack knowledge about colonoscopy among high-risk patients

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States and advanced colorectal polyps are a major risk factor.

14 Sep 2020

Tattoo ink could be the key to improving cancer detection

The humble ink in a tattoo artist's needle could be the key to improving the detection of cancer, thanks to new research from the USC Viterbi Department of Biomedical Engineering.

2 Sep 2020

Researchers identify potential drug target for curtailing cancer metastasis

Researchers led by Ludwig Chicago Co-director Ralph Weichselbaum and Ronald Rock of the University of Chicago have identified in preclinical studies a potential drug target for curtailing cancer metastasis.

24 Aug 2020

Researchers find a new way to slow colon cancer metastasis

When cancer metastasizes and spreads throughout the body, it can severely change the prognosis of the disease. It is estimated that metastasis is responsible for 90 percent of cancer deaths.

24 Aug 2020

New database could speed the development of gene-targeted therapies for breast cancer

All current breast cancer drugs were first tested in cell lines. Each cell line began as cancer in a patient. As such, each cell line is a surrogate for that patient's disease.

19 Aug 2020

Lifetime risk of death from firearms, drug overdoses is substantial in the United States

A new study appearing in The American Journal of Medicine, published by Elsevier, calculates the lifetime risk of death from firearms and drug overdoses in the United States.

19 Aug 2020

Studying the Proteome and Human Diseases using Mass Spectrometry

An interview with Amanda Hummon, discussing how mass spectrometry can be used to analyze the proteome and how this can help with the study of human disease.

From Pittcon 13 Aug 2020

More than 40-year-old cancer mystery solved: Thanks to epigenetics

In an article that was just published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by the group of Dr. Manel Esteller, is solved this mystery by describing that in cancer cells the protein that generates the nucleotide "Y" is epigenetically inactivated, causing small but highly aggressive tumors.

12 Aug 2020

Researchers use patient-specific tumor organoid to optimize chemotherapy for appendix, colon tumors

A patient-specific tumor organoid model is being used to identify the most effective chemotherapy protocol to treat appendix and colon tumors, a personalized medicine approach that is showing promise.

7 Aug 2020

3D organoid model helps better understand how tumor grows in natural microenvironment

Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) have biofabricated human colorectal cancer miniature organs, called organoids, to better understand how a tumor grows in its natural microenvironment and its response to therapies.

5 Aug 2020

Antioxidant-rich foods may increase risk for bowel cancers, study finds

It is a fact that has long baffled doctors: Cancer in the small intestine is quite rare, whereas colorectal cancer, a neighboring though much smaller organ, is one of the leading causes of cancer death for men and women. What is it about the colon that seems to "attract" cancer?

29 Jul 2020

Study shows promise of a major breakthrough in healing chronic diabetic ulcers

A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows promise of a major breakthrough in healing chronic foot ulcers resulting from diabetes.

28 Jul 2020

UT Southwestern Medical Center ranks among the top 50 hospitals

UT Southwestern Medical Center is the No. 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth – the nation's fourth-largest metro area – and ranks among the top 50 hospitals nationally in 10 specialties ranging from brain to heart care, according to U.S. News & World Report's annual Best Hospitals report released today. Six of the specialties rank in the top 25.

28 Jul 2020

Silver-plated gold nanostars could be used to identify early biomarkers of cancer

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have engineered a method for simultaneously detecting the presence of multiple specific microRNAs in RNA extracted from tissue samples without the need for labeling or target amplification.

21 Jul 2020

Surgical delay linked to increased risk in gastrointestinal malignancies, study finds

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread cancellations of electively-scheduled or "non-emergency" operations were implemented to free up hospital beds and conserve protective equipment for health care workers.

7 Jul 2020

Real-time tracking of protein filaments in the nuclear pore complex

In human cells, the nucleus is enclosed by a structure called the nuclear pore complex (NPC). It acts as a 'gatekeeper' controlling the transport of molecules between the nucleus and the surrounding cytoplasm (the protein-containing solution in the inside of a cell).

6 Jul 2020