Exiqon offers relapse test for colon cancer

Exiqon A/S has released its miRNAbased prognostic test designed to identify stage II colon cancer patients who may be at significantly higher risk for recurrence and for whom adjuvant chemotherapy may be warranted.

Medical oncologists, colon cancer surgeons, and pathologists are the target users for miRNA-based prognostic test using LNA technology, according to the company.

Study ties HRT to lower colorectal cancer risk

The combination of estrogen plus progestin that was linked to a higher breast cancer risk may actually prove benefi cial against colon cancer, according to research published Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Jill R. Johnson, MPH, a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and colleagues extracted data from 56,733 postmenopausal women who participated in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project follow-up study. During an average 15 years of follow-up, the team identified 960 new cases of colorectal cancer in this population (18:196-203, 2009).

A risk reduction of about 45% was seen among women who had completed use of estrogen plus progestin five or more years previously, they reported. Any use of estrogen therapy was associated with a 17% reduced risk. Among those who used estrogen, the largest reductions were seen among those who were current users (25%) and users of 10-plus years (26%).

Push from primary care doc boosts screening

Tailored physician recommendation letters and in-office discussions can increase compliance with colorectal cancer screening guidelines, according to a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh.

Bruce S. Ling, MD, MPH, and colleagues included 10 primary care physician practices and 599 screeneligible patients in their study designed to evaluate methods for promoting colon cancer screening. The primary endpoint of the study was medical-record-verified flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.

They found that enhanced office and patient management increased the odds of completing a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy by 1.63-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.11-2.41; P = .01). Overall, about half of the patients obtained lower endoscopic colorectal cancer screening within one year.