Colorectal Cancer

A medication for people with advanced colorectal cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options appears to slow tumor growth and extend life, according to new data. Bayer HealthCare, the makers of regorafenib, said it would seek Food and Drug Administration approval of the medication this year. If approved, regorafenib would be the first new treatment for colorectal cancer in more than five years. Although chemotherapy and other medications can extend life in people with metastatic cancer (cancer that has spread throughout the body)

Robin Gibb has awoken from a nearly two-week-long coma as the former Bee Gees star continues to surprise in his battle with colorectal cancer.  As The Times reported about a week ago, Gibb was hospitalized -- gravely ill with pneumonia and in a coma -- with his wife, children and brother Barry Gibb standing vigil at his bedside.  But on Sunday, his family was celebrating. An update on Gibb's Facebook page detailed the latest developments, saying: "The remarkable Robin Gibb has confounded" his doctors "with his indomitable fighting spirit and remarkable physical endurance.

Colon cancer is most common in Westernized countries, such as the United States and European nations. That means lifestyle has a lot to do with why the disease develops. A study published Wednesday confirms that adhering to five basic health tenets could dramatically reduce the risk. In a study of more than 55,000 Danish men and women ages 50 to 64, researchers found these five factors cut colorectal cancer risk by 23%: -- Not smoking. -- Drinking no more than seven alcoholic drinks a week for women and 14 drinks for men. -- A waist circumference below 34.6 inches for women and 40 inches for men. -- Consuming a healthful diet (based on four recommendations: adequate daily intake of fruits, vegetables and fiber, and limiting consumption of red and processed meat and total fat.)

Screening longtime tobacco users for lung cancer would be less costly than the widely accepted practice of screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers and would reduce the death toll of lung cancer by an estimated 15,000 lives a year, according to a study released Monday that is likely to ignite debate on expanding healthcare coverage for smokers. Using the financial standards generally employed by health insurance companies, a group of actuarial economists calculated that annual low-dose CT scans of middle-aged Americans who have smoked the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes every day for 30 years would cost each insured American an extra 76 cents a month.

The doctor will see you now – and she has four legs and a tail. That’s right. Japanese researchers have trained an 8-year-old Labrador retriever to diagnose colorectal cancer by smelling a patient’s breath and/or poop. The Lab (who previously worked as a water rescue dog)  had an overall accuracy of 95% when using the breath test and 98% for the stool test, according to a study published Monday in the journal Gut. To train the dog, researchers first let her sniff a breath sample from a patient with colorectal cancer.

Pour yourself a nice big bowl of whole-grain cereal. A study finds that diets high in fiber, particularly from cereal and whole grains, may reduce the risk of colon cancer. The study, released online today in the British Medical Journal , is a meta-analysis of 25 studies that examined the relationship between dietary fiber and colorectal cancer, the third most common type of cancer diagnosed among men and women in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. Previous studies have shown that dietary fiber may decrease colorectal cancer risk, but the authors of this study said it's not apparent whether certain types of fiber are key. After analyzing these papers they found that for every 10 grams of dietary fiber and cereal fiber there was a 10% reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

In treating cancer, every bit of knowledge could help. Now researchers have found that adding the experimental drug Zaltrap in a chemotherapy regimen may slightly prolong survival in patients with advanced colorectal cancer and slow the progression of the disease, companies Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced Monday. The companies said data from a clinical trial, in which 1,226 patients on chemotherapy received Zaltrap (generic name: aflibercept) or a placebo, will be presented at a conference this month.

Increased screening during the last decade for colorectal cancer, the nation's second-leading cause of cancer deaths, has put a sharp dent in the prevalence of the disease and in the number of deaths resulting from it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. As screening for the disease among those ages 50 to 75 increased from half to two-thirds of that population, the prevalence rate fell from 52.3 cases per 100,000 in 2003 to 45.4 per 100,000 in 2007. The death rate fell from 19 per 100,000 to 16.7 per 100,000 during the same period, the agency reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . Those declines represent 66,000 fewer cancers during the period and 32,000 fewer deaths, the agency found.

Taking a low-dose aspirin prior to having a fecal occult blood test appears to increase the ability of the test to detect colorectal cancer, according to a new study. The fecal occult blood test, which looks for blood in the stool, is a common test used to detect colon cancer because advanced colorectal tumors often bleed. Moreover, use of low-dose aspirin is a common practice in people ages 55 and older because studies show the therapy can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Colorectal cancer kills more than 55,000 Americans each year. It's a cancer of the colon and/or rectum, which are both part of the large intestine. Here are some more facts--and suggestions to lower your risk: * Anyone can get colorectal cancer, but it usually strikes people older than 50. * Colorectal cancer is the No. 2 cause of death from cancer. (Lung cancer is No. 1.) * Get screened regularly after age 50. These tests can find noncancerous tumors--polyps--that sometimes turn into cancer.

Earlier this week, three studies in the medical journal The Lancet ( here , here and here , no subscription required) co-authored by researcher Peter M. Rothwell of the University of Oxford in England and an accompanying comment (subscription required) by Andrew Chan and Nancy Cook of the Harvard Medical School all detailed results suggesting that a daily dose of aspirin can prevent cancer -- or at least slow its progress.  So does this mean health-conscious types should pop a Bayer every morning?

In November, following an emotional public hearing some months earlier, the Food and Drug Administration withdrew approval for the cancer drug Avastin for patients with metastatic breast cancer - the late-stage, incurable form of the disease. The reason: emerging evidence that the drug does not prolong life and also that it's been linked to serious side effects. Now, confusingly, Avastin is back in the news again - this time, with positive results in two early trials of women with early-stage breast cancer whose tumors have not traveled beyond the breast or nearby lymph nodes.

Researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday that percentages of Americans receiving recommended screenings for breast cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer in 2010 did not reach targets -- with racial and ethnic populations lagging noticeably behind. The team's study , which was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, was the first to examine disparities in Asian and Hispanic groups, according to a CDC release.  Data was collected from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey . Overall, 72.4% of women ages 50 to 74 followed the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation to get a mammogram every two years . Healthy People 2020 , a government effort to improve health that sets goals for following screening guidelines, set a target of 81%. Eighty-three percent of women followed cervical cancer screening recommendations ; the Healthy People 2020 target was 93%.  For colorectal cancer screening , 58.6% of Americans complied with recommendations.

A medication for people with advanced colorectal cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options appears to slow tumor growth and extend life, according to new data. Bayer HealthCare, the makers of regorafenib, said it would seek Food and Drug Administration approval of the medication this year. If approved, regorafenib would be the first new treatment for colorectal cancer in more than five years. Although chemotherapy and other medications can extend life in people with metastatic cancer (cancer that has spread throughout the body)

Pour yourself a nice big bowl of whole-grain cereal. A study finds that diets high in fiber, particularly from cereal and whole grains, may reduce the risk of colon cancer. The study, released online today in the British Medical Journal , is a meta-analysis of 25 studies that examined the relationship between dietary fiber and colorectal cancer, the third most common type of cancer diagnosed among men and women in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. Previous studies have shown that dietary fiber may decrease colorectal cancer risk, but the authors of this study said it's not apparent whether certain types of fiber are key. After analyzing these papers they found that for every 10 grams of dietary fiber and cereal fiber there was a 10% reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

In England, getting screened and treated for colorectal cancer -- the second leading cause of cancer death in the United Kingdom and worldwide -- is free.  So why do only about half of thepopulation go through with it? The answer, suggests a new study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy:people believe if they're going to get cancer, they'll die from it anyway, so why bother? This attitude, known as cancer fatalism, is known to be a factor in African Americans' lower rates of colorectal cancer screening in the U.S.  It may also be a key reason people of lower socioeconomic status in the U.K. fail to follow through on testing, reported University of London Psychologist Anne Miles and colleagues.

A single sigmoidoscopy between ages 55 and 64 can reduce deaths from colorectal cancer by at least 43%, British researchers reported Tuesday. The results from the first large randomized trial of sigmoidoscopy show that it is a more effective tool than mammography for breast cancer or PSA tests for prostate cancer, and confirm current U.S. guidelines suggesting regular sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer. "If sigmoidoscopy can yield these results, colonoscopy should yield even better results" because it explores the entire bowel, said Dr. Eric Esrailian, a gastroenterologist at UCLA's Reagan Medical Center.

Men and women over 50 should have regular screenings for colorectal cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths, U.S. health officials said Thursday. A Public Health Service advisory panel said people over 50 should have a stool sample tested annually for blood that can be caused in some cases by cancer of the colon or rectum. It also recommended having a doctor regularly look inside the rectum and lower colon with an instrument called a sigmoidoscope.

Being stressed at work can take a physical toll. A study finds that being in high-strain occupations may be linked with making more trips to see the doctor compared with those in less-stressed jobs. The study, published recently in the journal BMC Public Health , included a nationally representative sample of 29,110 Canadian workers who were part of the Canadian National Population Health Survey from 2000 to 2008. Researchers looked at those in high-, medium- and low-stress jobs and the number of times they visited a general practitioner or a specialist.

They're more than man's best friends: They're friends with benefits. Here are a few ways dogs are helping to make our lives healthier, safer and longer. Search and rescue: When disaster strikes, search-and-rescue dogs are never far behind. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, for example, the canine contingent in search-and-rescue efforts at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon numbered more than 350. "A dog needs enough drive to go out on his own and find a person," says long-time dog trainer Pluis Davern.