Patients whose tumors shrink in response to radiation therapy before surgery for rectal cancer have both improved overall survival and improved disease-free survival.  However, even patients who responded to presurgical radiation did not reach survival rates for stage I rectal cancer patients treated with surgery alone. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking into the future, I have no doubt that we will use colon cancer stem cells to find more effective therapies for colon cancer patients and develop novel chemoprevention strategies.

I am collaborating with a basic scientist, Michael Kahn, from the USC Stem Cell Institute. He moved from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center to USC to develop novel strategies for cancer stem cells. As many of you know, California will spend over $3 billion over the next 10 years on stem cell research. I have no doubt in my mind that California will be the world leader in a couple of of years in stem cell research and the development of new therapies for a lot of different disorders including cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

On February 11, 2009 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed national coverage decision memorandum not to pay for computed tomographic colonography (so-called virtual colonoscopy) to screen for colorectal cancer.

The evidence is inadequate to conclude that CT colonography is an appropriate colorectal cancer screening test under §1861(pp)(1) of the Social Security Act. CT colonography for colorectal cancer screening remains noncovered.

The national coverage decision will not be final until 30 days after February 11 to allow for public comments.  Individuals and organizations concerned about the proposed decision can submit a comment online. However, CMS does not now cover screening CT colonography.

IMPORTANT: If you want to submit a comment to CMS online, you MUST click on and open the CMS PHI Posting Policy and then check off that you have read it.  If you don’t click on the underlined link, you cannot enter a check mark, your personal information, or your comment. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s reports find that complications from 5-FU treatment raise costs for it to equal the initally more expensive oral Xeloda, a coil shunt installed in a vein can capture and kill circulating tumor cells, and hypertension is associated with better outcomes from Avastin.

In addition, there is a shortage of pain medicine oxycodone developing.  Wayne Meyers, Idaho prairie farmer and state legislator died this week of colon cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

As I reported yesterday the House and Senate have come to an agreement in conference on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – a.k.a. the Stimulus Package. House leadership has just announced that a final House vote on the bill will not take place until Friday. Senate passage is also expected by week’s end.

We now know that the conference report contains $10 billion for the NIH ($8.5 billion for research and $1.5 billion for extramural facility improvements), $1 billion for prevention, $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research (including an additional $400 million for research at the NIH), and $500 million for HRSA health professionals programs.