April 8th 2025
A phase 2 study found that treatment with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes elicited a partial response rate of 15.1% in patients with gastrointestinal cancers.
Community Practice Connections™: 9th Annual School of Gastrointestinal Oncology®
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BURST CME™: Illuminating the Crossroads of Precision Medicine and Targeted Treatment Options in Metastatic CRC
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Fighting Disparities and Saving Lives: An Exploration of Challenges and Solutions in Cancer Care
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Community Practice Connections™: 14th Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Meeting
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PER® Liver Cancer Tumor Board: How Do Evolving Data for Immune-Based Strategies in Resectable and Unresectable HCC Impact Multidisciplinary Patient Management Today… and Tomorrow?
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Show Me the Data™: Bridging Clinical Gaps Along the Continuum From Resectable, Early Stage to Advanced Gastric/Gastroesophageal Junction Cancers
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New Surgery Drops Local Recurrence of Rectal Cancer to 5%
April 1st 1999ORLANDO, Fla-Sharp dissection through a plane between the visceral and parietal layers of the pelvic fascia permits a clean removal of the entire rectum and mesorectum, and greatly decreases local recurrence of rectal cancer, Warren E. Enker, MD, reported at the 52nd Annual Cancer Symposium of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO). Typically, he said, patients have been treated with blunt dissection, resulting in inadequate mesorectal excision.
Survey Shows Low Use of Colon Cancer Screening Tests
March 1st 1999ATLANTA-Although screening can reduce mortality from colorectal cancer, a CDC study indicates low use of sigmoidoscopy/proctoscopy and the fecal occult blood test (FOBT), particularly within the recommended time intervals. People with health insurance, higher incomes, and more education were more likely to report having had these tests.
Genes Linked to Early Onset, Distal Location of Hereditary Colon Cancer
March 1st 1999Researchers have identified a mechanism that may explain where colorectal tumors arise and at what age the tumors develop in people with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). The results of the study, conducted at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, help clarify why some people with the same HNPCC-related genetic mutation develop colorectal tumors at 30 years of age while others develop tumors at age 60. They also help explain why tumors in some patients develop in the distal area of the large intestine rather than in regions closer to the large intestine’s junction with the small intestine, which is more typical.
New Cancer Vaccine Appears to Improve Colon Cancer Survival
March 1st 1999Aphase III clinical trial conducted by researchers at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pennsylvania, found that the OncoVAX colon cancer vaccine reduced the 5-year recurrence rate of patients with stage II colon cancer patients by 61% and improved their cancer-free survival rate by 50%. The study, published in a recent issue of the Lancet, compared patients who underwent surgery alone to patients who had surgery plus the vaccine.
Therapy for Early-Stage Colorectal Cancer
March 1st 1999The article by Drs. Peeters and Haller provides the details of 20 years of investigation into the adjuvant therapy of colorectal cancer. The authors describe pivotal trials through which an international cast of investigators have identified adjuvant
Sphincter-Sparing Surgery in Early-Stage Rectal Cancer
February 1st 1999PHOENIX-Conservative, sphincter-sparing surgery followed by chemotherapy plus radiotherapy appears effective in selected patients with early-stage rectal cancer, Anthony Russell, MD, said at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting.
Aspirin Decreases Genetic Mutations Associated With Inherited Colon Cancer
January 1st 1999Scientists at Jefferson Medical College believe they’ve uncovered a molecular mechanism by which aspirin interferes with colorectal cancer development in individuals who carry particular gene mutations that make them very likely to get the
Chemoprevention of Colorectal Cancer: Dietary and Pharmacologic Approaches
January 1st 1999Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancers in the United States. In an effort to prevent the occurrence of colorectal cancer, agents identified as reducing risk of the disease are being targeted as potential chemoprevention tools. However, complex associations exist among diet, lifestyle factors, and genetic susceptibility and the eventual development of colon cancer, sometimes making the transition from associations identified in epidemiologic studies to the clinical use of chemoprevention agents difficult. Environmental factors that may serve as chemoprevention agents are addressed in the article by Garay and Engstrom. Does our current knowledge allow us to embrace these agents as tools for chemoprevention?
Chemoprevention of Colorectal Cancer: Dietary and Pharmacologic Approaches
January 1st 1999Remarkable progress has been made in recent years in our understanding of colorectal cancer etiology. The various hypotheses of causality continue to be tested in human observational and intervention studies, as well as experimental models. Drs. Garay and Engstrom provide a comprehensive review of the dietary and chemopreventive factors for colorectal cancer. While their conclusions are noteworthy, those related to dietary factors are debatable.
Chemoprevention of Colorectal Cancer: Dietary and Pharmacologic Approaches
January 1st 1999Colorectal cancer is a major cause of death in the United States, where it accounts for approximately 57,000 deaths per year. Thus, the prevention of this disease would have a significant impact on public health. Chemoprevention is defined as the use of natural or pharmacologic agents to disrupt the process of carcinogenesis. Substances explored as chemopreventive agents in colorectal cancer include: (1) the nonsteroidal anti-inflamma-tory drugs (NSAIDS), which may inhibit the evolution and formation of adenomas by their inhibition of cyclooxygenase and decrease of prostaglandin synthesis; (2) antioxidants, such as vitamin E or C, which may modulate carcinogenic substances; and (3) folate and calcium, which may interfere with tumor cell growth and replication. Dietary intervention can be accomplished by decreasing fat intake and increasing fiber consumption, both of which have been linked to a lower incidence of colon cancer in multiple epidemiologic studies. This field is continuing to evolve. Hopefully, ongoing research efforts will offer a better understanding of the role of these and other substances in chemoprevention. This article summarizes the available data regarding dietary and pharmacologic approaches to colorectal cancer chemoprevention. [ONCOLOGY 1(13):89-98, 1999]
FDG-PET Used to Evaluate Colorectal Cancer Recurrences
January 1st 1999TORONTO-Several studies presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 45th annual conference support the use of positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to evaluate patients with recurrent colorectal cancer.
Tumor Markers May Fail to Detect, Exclude Colon Cancer
November 1st 1998TORONTO--New research suggests that tumor marker levels for colorectal cancer do not consistently indicate the presence of malignant tissue. A German study revealed that 10 of 34 patients with colorectal cancer had normal carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels and 16 had normal CA19-9 levels. In addition, a California study found that patients with elevated CEA levels did not necessarily have disease recurrence.
Irinotecan May Extend Survival in People With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
October 1st 1998Data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting by Professor Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium, demonstrate, for the first time, that people with metastatic colorectal cancer who
Advanced Colorectal Cancer Patients May Prefer Raltitrexed
September 1st 1998LOS ANGELES--Raltitrexed (Tomudex), a folate-based specific inhibitor of thymidylate synthase, has been shown in phase III trials to produce response rates similar to those of the Mayo regimen of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
Oxaliplatin Added to Bimonthly Colorectal Cancer Regimen
September 1st 1998LOS ANGELES--Adding oxaliplatin (Eloxatine) to a bimonthly regimen of leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in colorectal cancer patients "substantially enhanced the regimen’s activity with little increase in toxicity," Aimery de Gramont, MD, Hospital Saint-Antoine, Paris, reported at ASCO. "The study confirms the good activity and excellent tolerability of the bimonthly leucovorin/5-FU schedule," he said.
Monoclonal Antibody May Increase Survival Rate in Patients With Colorectal Cancer
September 1st 1998In patients with Dukes’ C colorectal cancer, therapy with a novel murine monoclonal antibody, Mab 17-1A (edrecolomab [Panorex]), manufactured by Centocor, reduced death by 32% and recurrence of disease by more than 23%, according to a
Moderate Exercise Cuts the Risk of Colorectal Cancer
September 1st 1998BETHESDA, Md--"Exercise appears to be one good way, among others, to lower the risk of colorectal cancer," Maria Elena Martinez, PhD, said at the American Society of Preventive Oncology meeting. "And you don’t have to be a marathon runner to get this benefit."
Irinotecan Plus 5-FU and Leucovorin in Advanced Colorectal Cancer: North American Trials
August 6th 1998Both fluorouracil (5-FU) and irinotecan (CPT-11 [Camptosar]) have shown activity in metastatic colorectal cancer and are approved for its treatment in the United States. Preclinical experiments in cell cultures and human tumor
Adjuvant Therapy for Rectal Cancer: Results and Controversies
August 1st 1998In this excellent article, Dr. Minsky examines the current state of knowledge about adjuvant therapy for resectable rectal cancer, as well as ongoing research in this area. Reasonable recommendations for the management of patients with rectal cancer are made based on data obtained from clinical trials.
Adjuvant Therapy for Rectal Cancer: Results and Controversies
August 1st 1998Dr. Minsky provides an excellent overview of the current status of adjuvant therapy for patients with rectal cancer. The article includes not only the results of completed randomized and phase II trials but also some of the early toxicity data from ongoing and maturing neoadjuvant trials. Although it would appear that Dr. Minsky’s personal bias favors neoadjuvant combined-modality therapy, he clearly defines gaps in our existing knowledge that will need to be filled in by randomized trials.
Assessing the Impact of Chemotherapy on Tumor- Related Symptoms in Advanced Colorectal Cancer
August 1st 1998In all patients with advanced colorectal cancer, disease eventually progresses following fluorouracil (5-FU) therapy, with a worsening of disease-related symptoms and quality of life (QOL). Irinotecan (CPT-11[Camptosar])