Gastrointestinal Cancer

BETHESDA, Md--"Exercise appears to be one good way, among others, to lower the risk of colorectal cancer," Maria Elena Martinez, PhD, said at the American Society of Preventive Oncology meeting. "And you don’t have to be a marathon runner to get this benefit."

Accurate staging plays a primary role in determining the appropriate treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. Recently, laparoscopy has emerged as a staging modality that is more sensitive and specific in staging most

Both fluorouracil (5-FU) and irinotecan (CPT-11 [Camptosar]) have shown activity in metastatic colorectal cancer and are approved for its treatment in the United States. Preclinical experiments in cell cultures and human tumor

In this excellent article, Dr. Minsky examines the current state of knowledge about adjuvant therapy for resectable rectal cancer, as well as ongoing research in this area. Reasonable recommendations for the management of patients with rectal cancer are made based on data obtained from clinical trials.

Dr. Minsky provides an excellent overview of the current status of adjuvant therapy for patients with rectal cancer. The article includes not only the results of completed randomized and phase II trials but also some of the early toxicity data from ongoing and maturing neoadjuvant trials. Although it would appear that Dr. Minsky’s personal bias favors neoadjuvant combined-modality therapy, he clearly defines gaps in our existing knowledge that will need to be filled in by randomized trials.

Irinotecan (CPT-11 [Camptosar]) is currently approved for use as a second-line agent in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Phase II studies have also shown substantial single-agent activity of irinotecan in the

In all patients with advanced colorectal cancer, disease eventually progresses following fluorouracil (5-FU) therapy, with a worsening of disease-related symptoms and quality of life (QOL). Irinotecan (CPT-11[Camptosar])

During the past decade, advances have been made in the adjuvant treatment of resectable rectal cancer. Postoperative combined-modality therapy significantly improves local control and survival. Recent Intergroup

LOS ANGELES--A second-generation topo-isomerase I inhibitor, RFS 2000, has led to significantly improved survival in patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma, according to interim results of an ongoing phase II study presented at an ASCO poster session.

PHILADELPHIA--"Six months of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin should be the new standard adjuvant therapy for patients with node-positive, high-risk colon cancer," Daniel Haller, MD, said at the annual ASCO meeting.

In order for the immune system to protect against cancer, it must recognize tumors as "non-self." Markers present on the surface of tumors, known as antigens, allow the immune system to recognize tumors as non-self. However, in order for the

LOS ANGELES--Irinotecan (Camptosar), also known as CPT-11, should be standard therapy for patients whose metastatic colorectal cancer has become resistant to fluorouracil (5-FU), David Cunningham, MD, said at the plenary session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. Dr. Cunningham is head of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK.

NEW ORLEANS--In a mouse model of colon cancer, the anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib prevented formation of tumors and caused regression of existing tumors, according to research presented at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

NEW ORLEANS--Five recent discoveries could have a big effect on colorectal cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment, Margaret Tempero, MD, deputy director of the UNMC/Eppley Cancer Center, Omaha, Nebraska, said at a public forum held at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Drs. Weber and Petrelli review much of the literature regarding patient outcomes after local excision alone, as well as local excision plus chemoradiotherapy, in patients with various stages of low rectal adenocarcinoma. The authors apparently were unaware that the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) experience with local excision plus chemoradiation, which antedated the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) study, will soon be in print to provide further multi-institutional support for these methods along with much greater follow-up. They also omitted our long-term data (median follow-up of survivors is 67 months) showing the very low locoregional recurrence rates in patients with T2 cancers treated by local excision and chemoradiotherapy.[1]

In this extensive review of the literature, Weber and Petrelli have nicely placed into perspective and documented the methods used in and results of most of the studies on local excision for rectal cancer. Although I agree with many of their conclusions, it is difficult for me to agree with the title of their article, "Local excision for rectal cancer: An uncertain future."

Adenocarcinoma of the rectum remains a significant public health challenge, with 39,000 new cases and 8,500 deaths predicted for 1998. Radical surgery, the current standard therapy, frequently necessitates the formation of

BETHESDA, Md--When it comes to avoiding colon cancer, Grandma was right: Eat your vegetables, take vitamins, and forget that burger, for goodness sakes. Edward Giovannucci, MD, conveyed this basic message at a workshop on preventing colon cancer, held in conjunction with the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) annual meeting.

BETHESDA, Md--Understanding the complex association of lifestyle and colon cancer risk requires evaluating a number of different behavioral factors, and these may best be studied as clusters rather than individual items, Martha Slattery, PhD, MPH, said at the American Society of Preventive Society (ASPO) meeting.

BETHESDA--Diet, physical activity, obesity, and aspirin use all influence the risk of colon cancer, according to both the underlying biology and evidence from epidemiologic studies, Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, said at the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) annual meeting.

WASHINGTON--The advent of Medicare-funded colorectal cancer screening this year followed on the heels of new colorectal screening guidelines issued last year. Some of the physicians and researchers who developed those guidelines gathered in Washington to celebrate the new Medicare benefit.

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Rectal cancer is treated with a wide variety of operations and adjuvant therapy. This variety makes extensive preoperative evaluation mandatory, said Karamjit Khanduja, MD, chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Mt. Carmel Health, Columbus, Oho.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla--The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) colon cancer screening guidelines committee came to "a remarkable degree of consensus on the recommendations," Stephen Gruber, MD, PhD, MPH, said at the group’s third annual conference. The NCCN is a coalition of 16 leading US cancer centers.

PARIS--Hepatic intraarterial (HIA) chemotherapy coupled with aggressive resection may improve the outlook for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer, Nancy Kemeny, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said at the Eighth International Congress on Anti-Cancer Treatment (ICACT).

ORLANDO--A new high dose rate/intraoperative radiation therapy (HDR-IORT) delivery system utilizing the Harrison, Anderson, Mick (HAM) applicator is proving effective in treating primary unresectable and locally advanced, recurrent rectal cancer.

Scientists at the American Health Foundation’s Nutritional Carcinogenesis Division, under the direction of Dr. Bandaru S. Reddy, division chief and associate director of the Foundation’s Naylor Dana Institute, Valhalla, New York, and Dr. Karen Seibert of Searle Research & Development, St. Louis, Missouri, described an exceptionally strong inhibitor of colon cancer development in an animal model assay in the February 1, 1998, issue of Cancer Research.

PHILADELPHIA-Thomas Jefferson University’s new Familial Colorectal Cancer Registry is collecting information and blood and tissue samples from families with a higher-than-normal risk of colon cancer, to aid researchers looking for genetic markers of the disease and to provide genetic counseling and genetic testing, if appropriate, to participants.

A genetic mutation in the adenomatous polyposis (APC) gene found in 7% of Ashkenazi Jewish families in the United States does not necessarily lead to colon cancer, according to a study in the December 15, 1997, issue of Cancer Research.

Researchers from the University of Wurzburg in Germany have determined that a simple antibody test may be as effective in detecting Helicobacter pylori infection as the more invasive procedures that are currently used. They reported their findings

Over the past 7 years, 58 saline-filled tissues expanders (TEs) have been temporarily placed in 57 patients. The