Hope and Cure

In this month we don’t want to only raise awareness about prevention of colon cancer. We should be aware of the significant progress we have made in the last 10 years treating it.

With the introduction of irinotecan, oxaliplatin, bevacizumab, and cetuximab, overall survival has tripled to more than two years; but this does not tell us the whole story. In the past patients with metastatic disease all died from their disease. This is not true any longer.

With more active therapies, we have cured more and more patients, particularly those whose cancer has only spread to the liver. There are increasing reports that this is also true for lesions found in one site in the lung. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on March 3rd, 2010
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 10 Comments »
Tags: Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, metastases, Treating Colorectal Cancer

Blueberries and Colon Cancer

Recent studies from Swedish investigators suggest that blueberries may prevent colon cancer development. They suggest that blueberries should be eaten with probiotic yoghurt to further improve the benefit. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on February 17th, 2010
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 6 Comments »
Tags: antioxidants, Preventing Colorectal Cancer

Inhibitor of AKT Shows Promising Activity in Colon Cancer

At ASCO in June 2009  a study was presented showing potential benefit of a novel inhibitor of AKT and MAPK in patients with metastatic colon cancer in second and third line chemotherapy.  An update at the 2010 ASCO GI meeting in January further confirmed these promising results.

This was a randomized phase II study comparing Xeloda alone versus a combination of Perifosine and Xeloda. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on February 15th, 2010
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 2 Comments »
Tags: perifosine, Treating Colorectal Cancer

Heart Drugs used for Congestive Heart Failure and Arrhythmia may have Anti-tumor Activity

Swedish scientists  reported in the American Cancer Society Journal of Natural Products that cardiac glycosides, which are a family of naturally derived drugs which are used to treat congestive heart failure and arrhythmia, show anti-tumor activity against colon cancer cells. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 5th, 2010
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 3 Comments »
Tags: Treating Colorectal Cancer

Physical Activity Reduces Risk for Tumor Recurrence

You may know this already, but we have now more proof that physically activity reduces significantly your risk of tumor recurrence.

The study conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Meyerhardt from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute began in January 1986, included 668 men who’d been treated for stage I, stage II or stage III colon cancer that had not spread (nonmetastatic cancer). Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 3rd, 2010
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 3 Comments »
Tags: Living with Colorectal Cancer, physical activity, survivorship