Colorectal Cancer

In the United States, approximately 20% of patients with colorectal cancer present with distant metastasis at diagnosis. In 25% of cases, the peritoneal cavity is the only site of metastatic disease, which is not indicative of a generalized systemic disease, as is the case with lung or liver metastases.

The occurrence of colon cancer on the right vs left side of the colon is a prognostic factor for all stages of the disease.

Patients with peritoneal metastatic colorectal cancer had significantly shorter overall survival compared with patients with other isolated sites of metastases.

The expansion of healthcare in Massachusetts in 2006 was associated with increased rates of resection for patients with colorectal cancer.

Colonoscopy screening is modestly effective for preventing colorectal cancer in patients aged 70 to 74, but the benefits may begin to diminish after that.

If you’ve been in oncology long enough, you’ve likely seen the patient who presents with metastatic disease, gets first-line therapy, progresses, switches to second-line therapy, progresses again, and so on, with their cancer becoming increasingly more resistant to therapy.

A set of genes that are more likely to be mutated in African-Americans vs Caucasians with colorectal cancer appears to increase the risk of metastases and relapse in mutant versions.

In this interview we discuss the GeneFx Colon test (or the ColDx assay), which can helpful identify patients with low- or high-risk stage II colon cancer.

A gene expression microarray-based assay was able to successfully identify patients with stage II colon cancer who are at high risk for recurrence.

A study found that fusobacteria, commonly found in the mouth, can enrich colorectal cancer cells, in a process mediated by the Fap2 protein.

Circulating tumor DNA detected after resection of stage II colon cancer appears to identify patients who are at high-risk of tumor recurrence.

Combination treatment with the MEK inhibitor cobimetinib and the anti–PD-L1 drug atezolizumab was active in patients with microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer.

The USPSTF has issued an updated guideline with recommendations regarding screening for colorectal cancer. A systematic review found that screening can be of “substantial net benefit.”

Here we discuss the evolution of standard therapy for rectal cancer patients and the use of preoperative CRT for the treatment of locally advanced disease. Treatment schemes that have attempted to broaden the horizons of standard therapy include the use of induction chemotherapy and “watch-and-wait” approaches.

By adjusting the sequencing of currently available treatments, improved compliance with therapy is ensured, and novel scientific and clinically relevant hypotheses can be further explored.

In this interview we discuss the CheckMate 142 trial, which looked at nivolumab and ipilimumab for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Matching targeted therapies to genetic abnormalities harbored by tumor types for which those therapies are not approved by the FDA might expand treatment options for some patients with advanced cancers.

The physical location of the primary tumor predicts survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, according to an analysis to be presented at ASCO.

Combined therapy with trastuzumab and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib shows promise against chemotherapy-refractory, HER2-positive colorectal cancers that do not harbor KRAS mutations.

Women who have undergone oophorectomy may be at an increased risk for colorectal cancer, according to the results of a recent study.

A new study suggests that cholesterol levels rather than cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may actually be responsible for the decrease in colorectal cancer risk.

The use of a noninvasive colorectal cancer screening test called a multi-target stool DNA test (mt-sDNA) detected the disease in patients who had previously avoided more invasive screening procedures.

New data indicates that entrectinib has clinical activity in patients with a variety of cancers with gene alterations in NTRK1/2/3, ROS1, or ALK who had never been treated with targeted agents.

Clinicians now have a new tool to better identify colorectal cancer in its early and more treatable state.

Drinking coffee resulted in a more than 25% decreased risk for developing colorectal cancer, according to the results of a new study.

The combination use of sulindac and erlotinib significantly reduced the number of small intestine, or duodenal, polyps present in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis.

A large cohort study showed that the risk of colorectal cancer is increased following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, suggesting colorectal cancer screening should be considered following a prostate cancer diagnosis.

Regular use of aspirin has been linked with a small but significant reduction in the risk for overall cancer, and especially gastrointestinal cancers.

The addition of selective internal radiation therapy with yttrium-90 resin microspheres to standard FOLFOX chemotherapy did not improve progression-free survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, but it did significantly delay disease progression in the liver.

Muscle area decreases significantly during treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer, and lower muscle area is associated with poor survival.