Patients who were having surgery to remove colon or rectal cancer that had spread to their liver had poorer outcomes if their C-reactive protein level was high prior to surgery. C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood is a measure of inflammation in the body. 

Researchers in the United Kingdom measured CRP the day before surgery for 171 patients who were about to have liver tumors removed with the goal of curing their cancer.

Median survival time after surgery for patients with an elevated CRP was 19 months while those patients who had a normal level was 43 months.  Patients with a high CRP also had their cancer return sooner,  Median disease-free survival w12 months versus 15 months for those with normal CRP.

V.K.H. Wong and colleagues at St. James Hospital in Leeds concluded:

The result of the study showed that an elevated preoperative CRP is a predictor of poor outcome in patients undergoing curative resection for colorectal liver metastases.

SOURCE:  V.K.H. Wong et al, British Journal of Cancer (2007) 96, 222-225

• Third Annual Scope It Out 5K Run/Walk for Colon Cancer Awareness
• Saturday, March 24, 2007
• 8:30 a.m.
• Potomac Park
• Washington D.C.
• Register for Run or Walk
• You must register before race day!

Although there are medical treatments to prevent nausea and vomiting during and after chemotherapy, some patients still experience significant problems despite drugs to prevent them.

Researchers in Singapore used electroacupuncture during chemotherapy to prevent nausea and vomiting for patients whose nausea and vomiting had not been relieved with standard medical treatment.

Patients were getting doxorubicin (Adriamycin®) chemotherapy and standard combination treatment of 5HT₃-antagonist and dexamethasone.    But that combination was not preventing nausea and vomiting in some patients screened for the study.

Doxorubicin has a high risk for nausea and vomiting, and almost always causes it.  5HT₃-antagonists include Zofran®, Kytril®, and Aloxi®.

Twenty-seven patients received electroacupuncture during their chemotherapy treatment. Nearly all — 26 — had a reduction in nausea and vomiting and more than one-third had no vomiting.  Average pain scores for the procedure for 3 out of ten.

The research team concluded:

Electroacupuncture is well-tolerated and effective as an adjunct in reducing chemotherapy-related nausea and emesis.

SOURCE: Su-Pin Choo et. al. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Dec 2006, Vol. 12, No. 10 : 963 -969.

The Colon Club has launched a new Wipe Out Colorectal Cancer campaign with actual rolls of toilet paper printed with information about colon and rectal cancer.

The rolls are available in both travel and full sizes from the Colon Club web site.

The travel rolls have the message on the label, but full-size rolls have information printed on every sheet.

Hannah Vogler, Co-Founder of the Colon Club says,

Everyone has to use toilet paper sometime! The Wipe Out Colorectal Cancer toilet paper is just another way for us to educate people about colorectal cancer. The regular size rolls can be used on any standard toilet paper rod, and the travel rolls are so portable that you can carry them around and give them away.

Wipe Out Colorectal Cancer is dedicated to thirty-one-year old Paula Ries from Mount Vernon, Indiana.  Paula was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer last year, which has now spread to her pancreas. 

The Colon Club raises awareness of colorectal cancer in innovative and entertaining ways including the Colossal Colon and the Colondar, which features young models who have had colon or rectal cancer baring their scars for the camera.

As the need for oncologists and other cancer health professionals grows, there may be too few to meet the demand.  A workforce study commissioned by the American Society of Clinical Oncology projects a significant shortage of oncologists and gynecological oncologists by 2020.

While the US population is growing and aging, the oncology workforce is growing more slowly.  Given the numbers of doctors expected to enter the field and those retiring, the total number of oncologists in 2020 is projected to be 12,500 — an acute shortfall of 2,550 to 4,080.

Between now and 2020, the demand for oncology services is expected to rise by 48% given a larger population and more adults over 65, who are more likely to need cancer care.  At the same time, the supply of oncologists  will increase by 20% and the capacity for oncology visits to increase even less at 14%.

In addition to the ASCO-commissioned study carried out by the Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Workforce Studies, another analysis by Richard Cooper MD at the University of Pennsylvania based on economic trends found similar shortages. Cooper’s study concluded:

This analysis, which is based on economic and demographic trends, projects a 36% deficit in the number of medical oncologists relative to the demand for care in 2020.

As well as more cancer patients, there are a growing number of cancer survivors who also need care.  In 1971 there were 3 million cancer survivors in the United States.  By 2001, the number of survivors had more than tripled to 10 million.

Michael Goldstein MD, chair of the ASCO Workforce in Oncology Task Force noted that this is not just a problem of medical oncologists,

It is very important that the results of the study are looked at not as a problem only for medical oncology. It really presents a challenge for the whole cancer care delivery system, including nurses, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pharmacists, and anyone who participates in the care of patients with cancer.

The full report  Forecasting the Supply of and Demand for Oncologists is available online.