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 »

There are more and more interactions between surgeons and oncologists for patients with metastatic colon cancer.

Colon cancer is very special since we can cure metastatic disease which is not usually possible for cancer. In colon cancer we talk about cure and not only survival. Because we can cure, we need to make sure we don’t miss any opportunity to do so.

Over the last five years our approach in patients with metastatic disease with liver-limited lesions has changed. We know that with more successful chemotherapies, we are able to convert more and more patients to a situation which allows a surgical resection with the intention to cure. Not all surgeries will cure, but it gives us a chance to cure. Read the rest of this entry »

Sitting in the airplane from Los Angeles to Columbus where my two older daughters, 17 and 16, are competing for slots to represent the USA in the World Championships and Grand Prix events in diving, I am reviewing a manuscript that one of our fellows is planning to submit to a prestigious journal.

We are very excited by what we have found. It started more than 5 years ago, when we thought that we saw young females with colon cancer did worse than young males. We already knew that women are protected against colon cancer premenopausally, and large studies have shown that hormone replacement in postmenopausal women decreased colon cancer risk and polyp formation. We hypothesized that when a tumor develops under estrogen protection, the tumor might be more aggressive. Read the rest of this entry »

Since diarrhea is a significant problem for patients with colon cancer and even more for rectal cancer patients when treated with chemotherapy and particularly with radiation, it can become a serious issue which decreases quality of life.

There are many drugs which have been used to treat diarrhea. Sometimes they work, and often they don’t.  Similar to many other symptoms, it really depends what is causing the diarrhea. If it is an infection such as C. difficile, obviously you need an antibiotic. If it is caused by an obstruction, you need to be admitted to the hospital.  Patients who have inflammatory bowel disease need specific prescription medication. It is critical to rule out any major underlying problems associated with diarrhea prior to starting to use remedies. Read the rest of this entry »

Acne has become a major problem for patients with colon cancer since the introduction of Erbitux and Vectibix. These drugs target EGFR not only in the tumor but the basal layers of the skin and cause a skin acne rash which can cover significant part of the head, chest, and back.

Most physician prescribe topical or oral antibiotics particular when there are a lot of pus-filled pustules. Bristol Myers Squibb which distributes Erbitux® (cetuximab) has developed a skin care kit, including liquid bandages and lotion to treat the skin. Most of my patients love it.

Patients always ask what else they can do, so I searched for remedies against acne and found interesting, promising ways to treat acne. Read the rest of this entry »