May, 2008
ArchivesEarly Onset Endometrial Cancer Signals Lynch Syndrome
Women who were diagnosed with endometrial cancer under the age of 50 had tumors with signs of Lynch syndrome in a significant number of cases. Lynch syndrome or hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) greatly increases the lifetime risk of both colorectal and endometrial cancer.
Researchers in Australia studied tumors from 146 women who were diagnosed with endometrial cancer before the age of 51. They stained the tumor sections for proteins expression by mismatch repair genes, a genetic mutation that leads to Lynch syndrome cancers. They also tested tumor DNA for other changes that can identify or exclude Lynch syndrome, and reviewed family medical history where it was available.
They found 26 tumors that were presumed to be due to Lynch syndrome or 18 percent of all the early endometrial cancers. The tumors were more likely to be poorly differentiated, stage II, have rapidly dividing cells, and invade the wall of the uterus more deeply.
Patients with the presumptive Lynch syndrome tumors were also more likely to have a family history of cancer, Lynch associated cancer in a first-degree relative, or family colon cancer histories that met the Amsterdam criteria for Lynch syndrome.
The research team concluded that endometrial cancers diagnosed in women fifty or younger should be routinely tested by immunohistochemistry for proteins associated with Lynch syndrome.
Michael Walsh and his colleagues wrote,
Presumptive Lynch syndrome was identified in 18% of early-onset endometrial cancer. A risk of this magnitude would argue for routine immunohistochemical testing of tumors in patients diagnosed with EC at or before the age of 50 years.
SOURCE: Walsh et al., Clinical Cancer Research, March 15, 2008.
Posted by Kate Murphy on May 27th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: HNPCC, inherited colorectal cancer, Lynch syndrome
First Colonoscopy of the Day Finds More Polyps
News from Digestive Disease Week 2008
Video courtesy of Medscape Today.
The first colonoscopy performed each day finds more polyps — both small hyperplastic ones and more serious advanced adenomas. As the day goes on, fewer polyps are found every hour.
Researchers studied all the colonoscopies performed at the UCLA Veteran Administration Center in 2006 and 2007, keeping track of a number of variables that might affect the number of polyps found. Even adjusting for patient differences, withdrawal times, and bowel preparation, the time of day remained a predictor of how many polyps were located during the colonoscopy. Continue reading…
Posted by Kate Murphy on May 22nd, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: colonoscopy, Digestive Disease Week
FY 08 Emergency Supplemental Passes Senate
Today, the Senate passed the FY 2008 supplemental appropriations bill for military operations abroad by a vote of 70 to 26. The Senate also passed a separate bill which provides supplemental funding in FY 2008 for domestic programs by a vote of 75 to 22. This bill includes $400 million for NIH and $275 million for the FDA. The two bills will be combined before any further activity takes place.
The House’s current FY 2008 supplemental appropriations bill does not include the emphasis on domestic programs. This is due largely to the fact that the White House has stated it will veto any supplemental funding legislation that doesn’t focus exclusively on military spending. The House and Senate will have to negotiate a final, compromised package to send to the White House after the Memorial Day recess.
Click here for the Roll Call Vote
Posted by Joe Arite on May 22nd, 2008
Posted in: Policy & Advocacy News | No Comments »
Tags: Congress, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill, FDA, NIH
Dingell to Companies…Stop Using “Misleading and Deceptive” Ads
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair, John Dingell (D-MI) and Oversight Subcommittee Chair, Bart Stupak (D-MI) sent letters to Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Schering-Plough and Pfizer asking them to stop using “misleading and deceptive” direct-to-consumer advertising.
Dingell in a statement said, “Marketing department leaders have failed to commit to reducing misleading and deceptive ads, so we’re now asking the CEOs to make this agreement.” Stupak said, “We intend to make certain that drug companies market their product properly in order to protect American consumers from manipulative commercials designed to mislead and deceive for profit.”
Posted by Joe Arite on May 22nd, 2008
Posted in: Policy & Advocacy News | No Comments »
Tags: Congress, DTC, FDA, Johnson and Johnson, Procrit
Some Stage II Colon and Rectal Cancers can be More Dangerous than Stage III
Advance Abstracts from ASCO 2008
How far a colon or rectal cancer penetrates through the wall of the bowel may be more important in deciding survival risks than current staging that focuses on positive lymph nodes.
Five year survival statistics for a large number of rectal and cancer patients verified an earlier study that found some stage III colorectal cancers had better prognosis than stage II cancers that extended through the bowel wall but did not invade nearby lymph nodes.
The information has implications for treating colorectal cancer after surgery.
Posted by Kate Murphy on May 21st, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 3 Comments »
Tags: ASCO, colorectal cancer prognosis, stage II colon cancer, staging, survival
