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.

X-ray showing polyps

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. The images are sent to a screen where the doctor can see the bowel lining. If something is seen, using the scope, the doctor can usually remove a piece of tissue to have it examined. Colonoscopies are also done to remove benign (harmless) polyps , which are overgrowths of tissue. These do have the potential of becoming cancerous, so by removing them, the risk drops.

Colonoscopies have their limitations. First, only the lower part of the lower intestine can be checked – the scope is only so long. And, most importantly, the bowel wall can only be seen if it is completely clear of any stool (bowel movement). If the bowels aren’t emptied completely, polyps or anything unusual on the walls may be missed.

Bowel preparation

It’s often said that the bowel prep is the most uncomfortable part of the whole test process. It involves taking very strong laxatives and limiting your diet for a couple of days before the exam. Unfortunately, this also means that you have to be near a toilet.

Some people have a harder time emptying their bowels than others. Some people don’t feel any abdominal cramping at all, others get bad cramps, and so on. Because of the seriousness of emptying the bowel properly, researchers want to know who is at higher risk of not being properly prepared. Their findings? People who are obese are often not properly prepped.

This is particularly serious because obesity is also a risk factor for colorectal cancer. People with higher risk factors should be screened more often.

According to a press release issued by the American Gastroenterological Association :

“The implications of our findings are profound. Since over a quarter of all patients had an inadequate examination, identification of a patient profile with a high risk for poor colon preparation will be helpful in capturing those who would benefit from an initial individualized designer preparation regimen,” said Brian Borg, MD, of Washington University in St. Louis, MO and lead author of the study. “Our results suggest that the obese patient should at least be subject to more precise instructions and possibly a more rigorous bowel preparation regimen. In addition, as the number of risk factors for an inadequate bowel preparation increase, the need for early repeat colonoscopy escalates.”

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Images: Stock.xchng and MorgueFile.com

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Bowel Prep for Colonoscopy Hard for Obese

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 to inhibit the function of a molecular structure expressed on the surface of normal and tumor cells called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, HER1, c-ErbB-1) — a novel cancer drug developed by ImClone.

Read more from ImClone press release.

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ImClone’s Erbitux: Approved in Japan For Colorectal Cancer Use

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 vegetables, to risk reductions for a range of cancers, including lung, pancreatic, and breast cancer.

Flavonols, a sub-group of flavonoids. Sometimes I get confuse myself too. But bottomline is, fruits and vegetable intake should be increased and I guess should be started really early in life. I know, that is most of the time easier said than done.

Read more from NutraIngredients.

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Flavonols Against Colorectal Cancer

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 who should be screened for colorectal cancer have not been screened in accordance with national guidelines (3).

Source: CDC press release.

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March 2008: National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

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 NIAD/NIH.

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Allergic Reaction To Cancer Drug Cetuximab (Erbitux), Found

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 benefits outweigh the risks.

We also need to improve our understanding of how aspirin works to prevent and inhibit the formation of colorectal cancer.”

Find more details from Science Daily.

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An Aspirin a Day Keeps Colorectal Cancer Away

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. The new research suggests a more complex interaction.

However, the subject of folate and colorectal cancer is controversial, however, with some studies reporting that the B-vitamin may in fact increase the risk of the disease. On the other hand, other studies have reported protective benefits from folate for colorectal cancer.

The above results, once applicable in humans, the synergistic interactions of this family of B vitamins will be more understood.

According to lead author Zhenhua Liu from Tufts University:

“This emphasizes the concept that diets that are inadequate in multiple 1-carbon micronutrients may have important functional ramifications that do not exist with singlet or doublet states of depletion.

The findings, under conditions of relatively mild dietary deficiency, suggest that whereas mild folate deficiency alone may not be sufficient to observe an effect on Wnt signaling, the concomitant deficiency of folate and other B-vitamins may produce abnormalities of the type associated with human colorectal cancers.”

Findings are reported in the Journal of Nutrition.

Find more details from NutraIngredients; JN article abstract.

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Vitamin B Deficiency May Promote Colon Cancer

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 Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine.

According to Tohoku University researcher Hiroyuki Shibata, M.D., curcumin is one of the most widely studied plant-based chemicals with anti-cancer properties.

Research has associated curcumin with several distinct actions, including the suppression of genes that promote cell growth (for example, the destruction of the pro-cancerous protein alpha-catenin), and induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis) in colorectal cancer.

Unfortunately, natural curcumin has what researchers term “low bioavailability” — the molecule quickly loses its anti-cancer attributes when ingested, Shibata says. With the aim of improving the therapeutic potential of curcumin, Shibata and his colleagues synthesized and tested 90 variations of the molecule’s structure.

The two molecular analogues of curcumin: GO-Y030 and GO-Y031, proved to be more potent and bioavailable, than natural curcumin.

So, I guess we should put more curry in cooking. That pungy aroma is actually too spicy for colorectal cancer.

Find more details from the American Association for Cancer Research.

[In Photo:Fresh turmeric roots. Curcumin, the yellowish component of turmeric that gives curry its flavor, has long been noted for its potential anti-cancer properties. (Credit: iStockphoto/Kelly Cline)]

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Molecular Analogues of Curry Better Fight Colorectal Cancer

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 observed…Once a tumor is initiated, growth into a detectable [polyp] depends in part on choline availability because choline is needed to make membranes in all rapidly growing cells.”

The authors admit though that these findings need to be replicated in other studies in order to confirm the mechanism involved in this association.

Colorectal polyps are growths that stick out of the lining of the colon or rectum. While usually benign, it should be removed because it can cause painless rectal bleeding and over time may lead to cancer.

Find more details from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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High-Choline Diet Can Increase Risk of Colorectal Polyps

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 research has shown that even drinking within the Government’s health guidelines of two units a day for women – one large glass of wine, or a pint of normal strength beer – or three units for men could prove to be dangerous.

Bowel (or colon or colorectal) cancer is the third most common cancer (after lung and breast cancers).

Gee, then drinking or not drinking wine daily will just be a choice of the lesser evil between heart disease and colon cancer.

This finding must really hurt all the wine-lovers out there. What should we do then? Take a sip of two after each dinner, or only have wine on weekends or say Friday nights only?

Read the full report.

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Two Glasses of Wine Daily and Risk of Colon Cancer