Colorectal Cancer

A 56-year-old Caucasian woman presented to her primary care physician with a 3-month history of intermittent bright red rectal blood with defecation. At her initial visit, a digital rectal examination, anoscopy, and a pelvic examination with DNA testing for high-risk HPV were performed; all results were negative. She was referred for a colonoscopy, which revealed an abnormal area with a 3 × 4–cm mass in the rectum at a distance of 10 cm from the anal verge.

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and high expression of VEGF-D garner more benefit from the VEGFR-2 antibody ramucirumab than those with low VEGF-D expression, according to a new study.

A large meta-analysis found that current and former smoking status was associated with poorer colorectal cancer prognosis compared with never smoking, and that smoking cessation may improve survival over those who continue to smoke.

A previously healthy 36-year-old man initially presented to his primary care physician with occasional bloody stools and dull right upper quadrant pain. Blood was sometimes mixed into his stools but was more often seen on the toilet paper after wiping.

In this interview, we discuss an assay that can detect disease recurrence in colorectal cancer patients.

Adherence to treatment guidelines for stage II or III colon cancer improved from 2001 to 2011 and resulted in improved survival outcomes.

Utilization of testing for mismatch repair deficiency was poor and underused in a large population of patients with colorectal cancer.

Aprepitant plus palonosetron and dexamethasone showed early promise for preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting among patients with colorectal cancer who are undergoing FOLFOX chemotherapy, according to results of a small pilot study.

Anti-EGFR therapy is a valuable addition to the armamentarium of treatment options for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. However, RAS mutation status is an imperfect biomarker for prediction of therapeutic outcomes in this setting. The recent discovery of tumor sidedness as a predictor of response highlights how little we understand about which patients are the most appropriate to receive drugs that target EGFR.

HER3 messenger RNA expression may serve as a biomarker for patients with RAS wild type colorectal cancer who will benefit from treatment with the anti-EGFR therapy panitumumab, according to the results of a new study.

A combination of oral antibiotics and mechanical bowel preparation helped to decrease the rate of surgical site infections in patients undergoing rectal cancer resections.

In this article, we provide a summary of nonoperative management of locally advanced rectal cancer in the modern era. Our focus is on technical details of tumor response and patient assessment after chemoradiotherapy, as well as a review of existing clinical data.

Follow-up intervention by patient navigators or provider reminders may help to improve the number of patients who undergo colonoscopy after positive fecal blood test results.

A combination of modified vaccinia Ankara-5T4 (MVA-5T4) and low-dose cyclophosphamide, or either treatment given alone, demonstrated significant survival benefit in a small group of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer compared with no treatment.

The FDA has approved the first cancer therapy biosimilar in the United States, a biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of multiple types of cancer, including colorectal, lung, brain, kidney, and cervical cancers.

This video reviews some of the pros and cons of long-course and short-course radiation therapy for the neoadjuvant treatment of rectal cancer.

Mortality from colorectal cancer has decreased since 1970 in young black patients aged 20 to 54, but has increased in white patients since 1995 in those aged 30 to 39 years and since 2005 in those aged 40 to 54 years after decades of decreasing.

The FDA has granted accelerated approval to nivolumab for use in adult and adolescent patients with MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer.

Two studies on Lynch syndrome highlight cancer screening and surveillance opportunities.

Overweight and obesity in adolescence were associated with an increased risk for colon cancer later in life among both men and women, according to the results of a recent study.

Here we review drugs that target the EGFR and VEGF pathways, focusing on patient selection, drug toxicities, and how to choose agents for first-line therapy.

Here we review the evidence for use of biologic agents in the second-line setting and beyond. We also discuss off-label indications for biologics in selected patient populations, as well as biologics currently under development.

Holocaust survivors have a small but consistent increase in the risk of developing cancer, in particular colorectal and lung cancers.

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is negatively associated with advanced colorectal polyps, and the specific portions of the diet that appear to have the most influence include high intake of fish and fruit and low intake of soft drinks.

Patients with colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver derive a significant benefit from selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) combined with chemotherapy if their primary tumor is a right-sided tumor, but not if it is a left-sided primary tumor.

Salvage surgery is associated with prolonged survival in patients with rectal cancer who have lung and liver recurrence after TME.

The primary tumor location was an independent prognostic marker in patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer after multivariable adjustment.

Long-term survivors of wild-type KRAS colorectal cancer tumors had significantly improved survival with regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Patients may be able to shorten their chemotherapy course after surgery for lymph node–positive colon cancer, according to an analysis of six clinical trials.

Patients with stage III colon cancer who maintained a healthy lifestyle had a reduced risk for death and a trend for a lower chance of recurrence.