Colorectal Cancer

BOSTON-HIV-positive patients often cannot tolerate treatment for anal squamous cell carcinoma and have a worse prognosis than other patients, according to two studies presented at the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) annual meeting.

Capecitabine (Xeloda) is a new, orally administered, enzyme-activated fluoropyrimidine carbamate designed to generate high levels of fluorouracil (5-FU) in tumor cells. Selective tumor activation of 5´-deoxy-5-fluorouridine,

Capecitabine (Xeloda) is a new, orally administered, enzyme-activated fluoropyrimidine carbamate designed to generate high levels of fluorouracil (5-FU) in tumor cells. Selective tumor activation of 5´-deoxy-5-fluorouridine,

FLINT, Michigan-The debate continues on the use of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping in colon cancer. How many nodes need to be analyzed to improve the outcome for this patient group? The current thought is the more nodes harvested, the better the predictive value, and Dr. Thomas LeVoyer made the case that removing more nodes yields a better survival benefit.

PHILADELPHIA-Nearly 45% of all cases of colon cancer have lymph node involvement. Surgical resection is the gold standard of treatment, with adjuvant chemotherapy used in an attempt to improve survival in patients with late-stage disease, but the outlook is often dismal.

NEDLANDS, Australia-If the implications of an Australian study are validated in further prospective studies, microsatellite instability (MSI) could potentially predict those patients with Dukes’ C and possibly Dukes’ B colorectal cancer who will respond best to chemotherapy.

NCI Colorectal Cancer Group Outlines a Decade of Research Goals

AstraZeneca has announced the launch of a new website that will help keep researchers and physicians up to date on

NEW ORLEANS-A prospective study in colorectal cancer patients has found that sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping correctly predicts the presence or absence of nodal metastases, with a very low incidence of skip metastases (disease in a non-SLN), as it does in melanoma and breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society’s translation of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer may benefit from therapy with the oral anticancer agent capecitabine

Microsatellite Instability Linked to Longer Colon Cancer Survival

Either alone or in combination with other antineoplastics, fluorouracil (5-FU) has been the mainstay of treatment of gastrointestinal, breast, and head and neck cancers for the past 40 years. Numerous active 5-FU schedules are in

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved irinotecan (Camptosar) as first-line therapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in conjunction with fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin. The approval follows unanimous

New data from three additional trial studies confirm that long-term use of exisulind (Aptosyn) prevents the formation of precancerous colorectal adenomatous polyps in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). These clinically significant

NEW YORK-Patients with advanced colorectal cancer have a median survival of only 12 months with single-agent chemotherapy. New drugs and new drug combinations are being tested in an attempt to find more effective treatments for the disease. A panel of researchers discussed trials of raltitrexed (Tomudex) in combination with other drugs at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVII.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved celecoxib (Celebrex) as an oral adjunct to the standard care (eg, endoscopic surveillance and surgery) of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Celecoxib, the only

Preliminary clinical data presented at a poster session of the 1999 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) revealed that a significant number of patients with advanced colorectal cancer respond to first-line treatment with raltitrexed (Tomudex) in combination with oxaliplatin. The response rate of 59% suggests that this regimen may be one of the more active combinations under current investigation for the disease.

NEW YORK-A new oral combination chemotherapy regimen is as effective as intravenous fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin, the current treatment standard, but with a superior safety profile. Speaking at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVII, Paulo Hoff, MD, assistant professor of medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, described the use of an oral regimen combining uracil/tegafur (UFT) and leucovorin as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

NEW YORK-The folate antagonist trimetrexate (TMTX) may be useful as a biochemical modulator of fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, according to preliminary results of a phase III trial conducted by the European TMTX Study Group and discussed at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVII

BUFFALO, NY-Colorectal cancer is caused by a multistep process, taking up to 25 years for an adenocarcinoma to develop. This offers multiple opportunities for prevention strategies to intervene and decrease the incidence of this disease.

BETHESDA, Md-G.D. Searle & Co. has won FDA approval for its COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex (celecoxib) as an oral adjunct to usual care (endoscopic surveillance and surgery) to reduce the number of adenomatous colorectal polyps in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). The FDA initially approved Celebrex for treating osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in April 1998.

Laparoscopic operating techniques are gaining wider acceptance among colorectal surgeons, as their efficacy is proven. These techniques offer patients the advantages of fewer complications, decreased need for postoperative narcotics, faster

Chemoradiation is effective in controlling anal and rectal cancers but causes significant side effects and complications, according to three independent teams of colorectal surgeons in Australia and the United States.

A treatment for patients with advanced colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver has been found to increase life expectancy, said Dr. Nancy Kemeny, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. This treatment combines

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. During 1999, approximately

Nearly one-fifth of patients who develop colorectal cancer at a young age (40 and younger) have a family history consistent

Researchers have identified a mechanism that may explain where colorectal tumors arise and at what age the tumors develop in people with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). The results of the study, conducted at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, help clarify why some people with the same HNPCC-related genetic mutation develop colorectal tumors at 30 years of age while others develop tumors at age 60. They also help explain why tumors in some patients develop in the distal area of the large intestine rather than in regions closer to the large intestine’s junction with the small intestine, which is more typical.

Aphase III clinical trial conducted by researchers at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pennsylvania, found that the OncoVAX colon cancer vaccine reduced the 5-year recurrence rate of patients with stage II colon cancer patients by 61% and improved their cancer-free survival rate by 50%. The study, published in a recent issue of the Lancet, compared patients who underwent surgery alone to patients who had surgery plus the vaccine.

Surgery is the only curative option for patients with colorectal cancer. The goal of other modalities, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy, is to prolong survival and reduce the risk of recurrence.