1. Long-term use of bisphosphonates is not associated with colorectal cancer risk. A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reveals there is no association between long-term use of bisphosphonates and risk of colorectal cancer. Researchers examined the relationship between bisphosphonate — bone-building drugs — use and the risk of colorectal cancer among more than 86,000 women, and found the use of the drugs did not correlate with an increased or decreased risk of developing colorectal cancer.
2. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy improves survival of esophageal cancer patients. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that the use of preoperative chemoradiotherapy helps improve survival in patients with potentially curable esophageal or esophagogastric-junction cancer. Of the 366 patients included in the study, 178 were randomly assigned to chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery while 188 had surgery alone. Median overall survival for the patients in the chemoradiotherapy–surgery group was 49.4 months, more than double the 24.0 month survival for the surgery group.
3. Childhood cancer survivors are at an increased risk for gastrointestinal subsequent malignant neoplasms. A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows child cancer survivors are at an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal subsequent malignant neoplasms. The study, primarily funded by the National Cancer Institute, determined that the risk for gastrointestinal SMNs was 4.6-fold higher in childhood cancer survivors than in the general population. The study also concluded that the increased risk is associated with exposure to abdominal radiation.
4. Sigmoidoscopy reduces the colorectal cancer rate. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has announced the results of a national study, conducted in part at the institution, reveal that flexible sigmoidoscopy reduces deaths attributable to colorectal cancer. Overall, colorectal cancer deaths were reduced 26 percent and new cases were reduced 21 percent as a result of screening with sigmoidoscopy, according to findings of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. The results appeared online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
5. Patients with Type II diabetes should undergo CRC screening earlier. A new study indicates it may be advisable for people with diabetes mellitus type II to undergo colorectal cancer screening at younger ages than is usually recommended. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., found the presence of adenomas among those screened between the ages of 40 and 49 with type II diabetes was about the same as those screened between the ages of 50 and 59 without type II diabetes. The study concluded that those with diabetes may require early screening because they have a similar risk of colon cancer and precursor adenomas as older non-diabetics who are currently recommended to start screening at age 50.
6. Patients are more satisfied with colonoscopies over computed tomography colonography. The results of the study conducted by researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, is somewhat surprising considering CTC is less invasive and faster than colonoscopy. The study compared same-day colonoscopy and CTC among 90 subjects who were at average risk for colorectal cancer. The subjects indicated they experienced less anxiety and pain with colonoscopy, and were more likely to request colonoscopy over CTC for future screenings.
7. Colonoscopy finds a high rate of colorectal cancer in elderly patients. A new study reveals that colonoscopy is an effective method of detecting colorectal cancer in elderly patients who had not been previously screened. Researchers found that elderly patients who had not previously received a colonoscopy had a cancer rate of 9.4 percent, which is much higher than those who previously received the procedure. The patients with identified colorectal cancer underwent curative surgery.
8. Web-based video improves patient compliance with colonoscopy appointments. A new study shows patients who watch an online instructional video are more apt to keep colonoscopy appointments and arrive prepared for the screening. Conducted by gastroenterologists at the University of Chicago Medical School, the research found that by showing a 30-minute web-based interactive program focusing on how a colonoscopy is performed, why preparation is necessary, and the risks and benefits of the screening to patients between the ages of 50 and 65, 40 percent were less likely to cancel an appointment.
9. Simple intestinal probe may detect pancreatic cancer. A new study reveals that by shining a small light within the small intestine, close to the junction with the pancreas, physicians are able to detect pancreatic cancer. The light, which is attached to a small probe, is designed to “measures changes in cells and blood vessels in the small intestine produced by a growing cancer in the adjoining pancreas.” The initial study was small, but produced a 100 percent success rate in detecting the cancer. This minimally invasive technique, called polarization gating spectroscopy, will be tested in a larger international clinical trial led by Mayo Clinic researchers.
10. Colonic tissue may be used to predict Parkinson’s Disease. Two new studies suggest colonic tissue obtained during either colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy may eventually be used to predict who will develop Parkinson’s disease. Reserachers analyzed samples of tissue obtained during colonoscopy exams that took place two to five years before the first symptom of Parkinson’s disease appeared in three research subjects, and all of the subjects showed the characteristic alpha-synuclein protein in the wall of the lower intestine. The investigators also showed colonic tissue is easily obtained using flexible sigmoidoscopy.
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