Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States . It’s also one of the most detectable and treatable of all, with up to a 90% cure rate if caught in the early stages.
Most often, once a cancer starts showing symptoms, it’s advanced quite a bit. So, the best way to find early cancers is through proper screening. The way to find – and prevent – colorectal cancer is through screening colonoscopies.
A long tube (endoscope) with a camera on one end is inserted into your rectum and then advanced slowly into your bowel, checking for anything unusual. …read more

ImClone Systems, Inc.’s advanced colorectal cancer drug has now received regulatory approval in Japan.
ERBITUX(R) (cetuximab) has received marketing authorization in Japan for use in treating patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
Specifically, this approval allows for the use of ERBITUX to treat patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive, curatively unresectable (inoperable), advanced or recurrent CRC, and allows the use of ERBITUX plus irinotecan in second and further lines of mCRC.
With this approval, ERBITUX is the first ever EGFR-targeted monoclonal antibody to be submitted for and receive marketing authorization in Japan.
ERBITUX (cetuximab) is a monoclonal antibody (IgG1 Mab) designed …read more

Okay…here goes another news on flavonols from tea, onions, beans and apples. As suggested by findings of a new U.S. study, increased intake of such flavonols may reduce risk of colorectal cancer by as much as 76 percent.
Findings were published in this month’s Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention:
Analysis of data from a randomised dietary intervention trial showed that the overall class of flavonoid compounds was not associated with a risk reduction, but flavonols – a sub-group of flavonoids, did significantly reduce risk.
The study adds to a growing body of science linking increased consumption of flavonol-rich foods, such as fruit and …read more

Colorectal cancer – sometimes called (large) bowel cancer or simply colon cancer – seems to be in the air this week. Now that the month of March is nearly over and before I totally forget, let me quickly mention that this month is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
According to CDC :
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. In 2004, a total of 145,083 cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed in U.S. adults, and 53,580 adults died from this disease (1).
Although regular colorectal cancer screening can reduce the incidence of and mortality from this disease, (2) approximately 40% of U.S. residents …read more

An allergic reaction to the cancer drug cetuximab has been found.
Sometimes the reaction includes anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition characterized by a drop in blood pressure, fainting, difficulty breathing, and wheezing.
Now researchers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered that specific pre-existing antibodies cause the severe reaction to the drug.
Cetuximab is an immune-based therapy commonly used to treat persons diagnosed with head and neck cancer, or colon cancer, marketed as the popular brand Erbitux — a product of ImClone Systems Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Find more details from …read more

Before it was an aspirin a day keeps the heart doctor away.
Now, according to a study published in Gastroenterology (the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute), the use of regular, long-term aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduces the risk associated with colorectal cancer.
According to Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the study:
“While the results of our study show that aspirin should not currently be recommended for the chemoprevention of colorectal cancer in a healthy population, there is a need for further studies to help identify for which patients the potential …read more

According to a new study in mice (led by Zhenhua Liu from Tufts University), moderate deficiency of folate, riboflavin, and vitamins B6 and B12 together may promote the risk of DNA damage and increase the risk of colorectal cancers.
The researchers, led by Zhenhua Liu from Tufts University, studied the Wnt pathway – a cellular signalling pathway linked to more than 85 per cent of colon cancers – and found that mild depletion of all four B vitamins was needed to promote the risk of tumour formation.
Previously, studies have suggested that folate deficiency alone may promote the risk of colorectal cancer. …read more

Curcumin has long been known for its anti-cancer properties.
Curcumin is the yellowish component of turmeric that gives curry its flavor.

I am not a fan of dishes that use curry. However, if cooked just right I may actually like it. My mother’s version of chicken curry (not too pungent but not bland either) is one of my favorites.
Now, Japanese researchers reported that two molecular analogues of curcumin demonstrate even greater tumor suppressive properties.
The team presented their findings from the first test of these molecules in a mouse model of colorectal cancer November 5 at the American Association for Cancer Research Centennial …read more

Dietary sources of the nutrient choline are red meat, eggs, poultry and dairy product.
Choline is involved in the biochemical process known as one-carbon metabolism.
As opposed to expected, diets high in choline have been found associated with an increased risk of some colorectal polyps – which can (but do not always) lead to colorectal cancer.
Such were the findings of a study published online in the August 7 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute:
“Although our results were contrary to expectation based on choline’s role [in one-carbon metabolism], there is a potential biologic basis for the positive association that we …read more

According to a study by Cancer Research UK, drinking two large glasses of wine a day increases the risk of getting bowel cancer by a quarter while even one large glass can increase the risk by 10 percent.
The warnings will come as a huge worry to millions of middle class Britons who enjoy a glass or two of wine each night believing that they are not harming their health.
Many even think they are doing themselves good after doctors extolled the benefits of a glass of red wine at night, claiming that it could protect them against heart disease.
But the …read more