Colorectal cancer is still one of "those" cancers, one that isn’t talked about all that often. After all, who wants to talk about bathroom troubles, right? Sadly, that is right. So, we need to raise awareness of the issue and having a month dedicated to it is one way to start.
A few years ago, the Colossal Colon visited the Montreal area. My youngest son was in high school and studying biology that year, so his class went for a field trip to check it out. It’s a great way to raise awareness, but his teacher took it one step farther. …read more

This question is a bit tricky to answer. The news reports say yes, African Americans are more likely to get colon cancer and to die from colon cancer than their white peers. However, we need to look more closely at the details before coming to a certain finding.
Studies that look at African Americans and whites who have equal access to health care do not have a higher rate of colon cancer. In fact, if both groups have equal health insurance, equal medical care access and treatment, then their detection, treatment and recovery rates are similar.
However, if you look at …read more

African Americans have a 45% higher death rate from colorectal cancer than do their white counterparts. This flies in the face of the progress that doctors and researchers are making in detecting and fighting the disease.
According to a press release issued by the American Cancer Society, New report says racial gap growing in colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer is the "third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States."
It’s estimated that almost 150,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer; almost 50,000 will die. The …read more

… Colorectal screening saves lives.
You’d think by now that this has been settled. After all, how many studies have been done on screening and its effect on detecting cancer? And screening doesn’t necessarily mean having colonoscopies. It could be as simple as having your stool checked for hidden blood or occult blood.
Yet another study, this time published in the most recent issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute, says the same thing. According to researchers, a district in Italy experienced a 13% decline in colorectal cancer since establishing an occult blood screening program in the early 1980s.
You …read more

A press release issued by the American Association for Cancer Research has some rather depressing news regarding cancer screening and minorities in the United States. The press release says,

"We have typically assumed that one of the best ways to motivate individuals is to point out disparities in health, but we may be having negative unintended consequences," said Robert Nicholson, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the St. Louis University School of Public Health. "Instead of motivating people who would be less likely to get these services in the first place, we may be …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

On Saturday, the White House has lost Tony Snow. Lost to colon cancer that is at age 53 –survived by his wife, Jill, and their three children.
President George W. Bush recalls Snow with fondness:
“He had a wonderful sense of humor. He loved to laugh. He loved his country. And he loved his family.
I just hope they understand that Tony was loved here in the White House.”
Full report from AP,  LA Times and The Washington Post.

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

ERBITUX® (Cetuximab) – product of Merck KGaA and ImClone Systems Inc. – has received EU backing as first-line treatment for colon cancer.
According to the European Medicines Agency:
Erbitux can be given as the first drug in colon-cancer treatment in patients who carry an unmutated kras gene, restricting its use to about 65 percent of patients.
Erbitux is the first monoclonal antibody approved by the US FDA for the treatment of advanced colon cancer that has spread to the other parts of the body — either alone or in combination with other treatments.
Read more about the EU backing on Erbitux from Bloomberg.

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