Medical News Today: Colorectal Cancer News

Asuragen, Inc., a leader in molecular diagnostics and nucleic acid-based pharmacogenomics services, announced that it has launched KRAS and BRAF mutational testing services in its CAP-accredited CLIA laboratory...

Researchers at the Faculty of Health Sciences have succeeded in decoding the genetic key that gives particular intestinal cells their identity. With this knowledge of the complex network of genes the researchers now hope to stop colon cancer by activating special anti-cancer genes. Colon sloughs lining The intestines have to work properly if we are to benefit from the food we eat...

Responding to the interim decision by NICE not to recommend bevacizumab (Avastin) as a treatment for metastic colorectal cancer, Mike Hobday, Head of Policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: 'We think this is devastating news for cancer patients with metastic colorectal cancer, especially as this drug could have a significant impact on peoples' quality of life...

NICE is issuing a second consultation document as part of its appraisal of bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with chemotherapy (oxaliplatin and either 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine) for treating metastatic colorectal cancer. This second draft of the guidance does not recommend bevacizumab for this indication. This draft guidance has been issued for consultation...

A new study published in a leading journal reports that rectal cancer appears to be rising among Americans under the age of 40, while colon cancer rates have remained steady for several decades; the study says more effort should go into diagnosing rectal cancer in young people...

Although the medical community has already accepted that colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is cost effective and saves lives, researchers have found that computed tomography colonography (CTC or virtual colonoscopy) not only identifies CRC but also doubles the yield of identifying significant early extracolonic (outside the colon) lesions, resulting in lives saved, according to...

Black patients die from colorectal cancer at much higher rates than whites do and new research points to unequal health care as the cause. While deaths from colorectal cancer have declined over the past 40 years, the declines have been uneven, said lead author Samir Soneji, Ph.D., of the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania...

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, new coverage instituted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will remove the financial disincentives associated with colorectal cancer screening for a large segment of the US population...

Viatronix Incorporated, a Stony Brook, New York, based company announced the release of the latest version of its leading edge V3D-Colon software with the option to have the industry's first FDA 510(k) approved colon CAD, VeraLook™ by iCAD...

Health Affairs: Little Evidence Of Correlation Between Growth In Health Care Spending And Reduced Mortality -This study examines differences in hospital mortality and cost between 2000 and 2004 for patients at 122 U.S...

A new study from researchers in Italy has found that a split-dosage schedule of bowel (colon) preparation is the most effective method for bowel cleansing before colonoscopy. Colonoscopies performed within six to eight hours of the end of preparation were associated with significantly better cleansing than those performed more than eight hours after the end of preparation...

The link between Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and reduced risk of distal large bowel cancer in women; a promising combination antibiotic therapy for ulcerative colitis patients; and the high-rate of alcoholic liver disease mortality, are among the scientific findings featured in the August issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology...

A recent questionnaire submitted to a group of patients at one of the nation's largest general hospitals suggests that a significant number of patients, who have previously refused colorectal cancer screening, are willing to undergo computed tomography colonography (CTC) (or virtual colonoscopy), but not willing to pay for the exam themselves when not covered by insurance, acco...

Anemia, a common blood disorder characterized by low hemoglobin levels, has long been associated with those suffering from colorectal cancer. But researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered that, more than a symptom of active disease, low hemoglobin levels can actually indicate a potential for colon cancer years before it's diagnosed...

A new analysis from Canada has found that cancer patients from poorer communities have a greater chance of dying prematurely than individuals from more affluent backgrounds even though cancer stage at time of diagnosis is similar across socioeconomic groups...

An experimental vaccine based on a virus that causes encephalitis in the wild appears to block tumor growth in some cases of advanced cancer, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Scientists say the vaccine is able to stimulate an immune response, even in the face of profound immune system suppression, a condition most patients with advanced cancer experience...

CD74 is a protein that is expressed in and on cells of the immune system, such as B lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells. This protein is known for its function in facilitating antigen presentation enabling the immune response...

While colonoscopies are the most accurate method for the early detection of colorectal cancers, screening with fecal occult blood tests results in more efficient use of limited budgets, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International...

Australia's next government must close a yawning gap in the nation's cancer control response by committing now to fully implementing the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program before more lives are lost unnecessarily, Cancer Council Australia said today...

Etubics Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company developing "next generation" vector vaccines, has entered into Phase I trials at Duke University with its ETBX-011, a therapeutic vaccine candidate that is intended to treat Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA)-expressing cancers such as colorectal cancer. Etubics dosed its first patient yesterday. Etubics was recently granted clearance by the U.S...