Although chemotherapy hasn’t been shown to benefit people with stage II colon cancer as a group, doctors have assumed those patients whose tumors had high risk features for poor survival might live longer if they did get chemo after surgery.

Now, a new study that looked at nearly 44,000  Medicare patients is challenging that assumption.

Medicare patients 66 and older with high risk stage II colon cancer didn’t do better when they received chemotherapy according to an analysis of information in the SEER-Medicare database.   Whether or not they had chemo, their chance of being alive five years after diagnosis was about 56%. Read the rest of this entry »

The X-PECT phase III clinical trial has finished recruiting over 430 patients, evaluating perifosine treatment for patients with advanced colorectal cancer who have exhausted standard treatments.

The trial compares the effectiveness of adding perifosine to Xeloda® (capecitabine).

Led by Johanna Bendell, M.D., from the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, TN, the trial is being conducted at 65 sites in the United States. Read the rest of this entry »

The FDA issued a shortage update for leucovorin on July 21, 2011.

While leucovorin remains in shortage from all three US manufacturers, the FDA is temporarily allowing Teva Pharmaceuticals to import calcium folinate solution for injection from Europe. The imported solution is the same strength as  powdered leucovorin calcium for injection once water is added to the US product.

In a Dear Healthcare Professional letter, Teva provides a chart comparing the two products and tells doctors and pharmacists that currently Teva is the only organization with regulatory discretion to import and distribute calcium folinate solution. Read the rest of this entry »

A phase II clinical trial in Japan showed improved survival time for TAS-102 when compared to a placebo in patients whose cancer had progressed on standard treatments.

Median survival was 9 months for patients who received oral TAS-102 compared to 6.6 months on placebo.

Taiho Pharmaceutical says that they are proceeding with a larger Phase III trial. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2010, 28,748 people died from colon and rectal cancer amounting to $21 billion in lost productivity.

Had optimal prevention and treatment strategies available in 2005 been used, 3,586 of those deaths could have been avoided saving $1.4 billion.

Based on a computer model, reducing risk factors, improving screening, and using optimal treatment could reduce deaths between 2005 and 2020 by 101,353 and save $33.9 billion. Read the rest of this entry »