In a small pilot study, Mozart in the background helped two endoscopists find more polyps during a colonoscopy.

One doctor’s adenoma detection rate (ADR) soared from 21% from before the study began to 68% while listening to music.  With no Mozart he found polyps in about 30 of every 100 patients he examined.  With music, his rate more than doubled to about 68 per 100.

A second endoscopist wasn’t moved as much by music.  Before the study, his ADR was 27.16%; afterwards it was of 36.7% with music and 40.5% without  the help of Herr Mozart.  Unlike the first doctor, he was told the results of the study as it went along.

Just being in the study and knowing their ADRs were being recorded boosted the rates for both gastroenterologists. Read the rest of this entry »

Richard Goldberg, M.D., a specialist in colorectal cancer, is now physician-in-chief at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center and James Cancer Hospital.

In his new position, Dr. Goldberg will help lead the transition to the new twenty story James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, which will expand services to cancer patients and integrate cancer research and clinical care. Read the rest of this entry »

Normal preparation instructions for a colonoscopy call for clear liquids the day before the test.  But are they really necessary for doctors to get clear view of the colon?

A small randomized study reported in a poster at the American College of Gastroenterology 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting found that a full liquid diet including milk, yogurt, pudding, fruit and veggie juices — even ice cream — was just as good as a more restricted clear liquid diet in finding polyps.

Doctors doing the exams didn’t know which patients had clear liquids only and who got to eat a full liquid diet, but rated them equally effective in satisfactorily cleansing the colon

In addition, the number of patients where polyps were found wasn’t different in the two diets.  One patient on a clear diet wasn’t able to finish the prep — which also included 2 liters of MoviPrep. Read the rest of this entry »

President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order yesterday addressing the drug shortage issue.

As we have reported extensively on www.FightColorectalCancer.org, the current drug shortages have impacted colorectal cancer patients who have been unable to get 5-FU, leucovorin or on occasion, irinotecan.

The Executive Order does not change the law, and it will not help patients who cannot get their drugs today, but it does reinforce the powers of the Food and Drug Administration to take steps that would ease the burden by:

• Broader reporting of when a manufacturer has stopped producing a drug that could lead to a shortage.
• Increased effort to review drug suppliers and manufacturing sites and changes. It also directs the FDA to prioritize its resources according to the burden of the shortage to the public health.
• Collaboration with the Department of Justice to address drug stockpiling and price gouging.

Colorectal cancer patients in a phase III clinical trial who took the oral drug regorafenib lived longer than those who got the best supportive care along with a placebo.

In fact, when the independent Data Monitoring Committee analyzed the progress of the trial, they recommended it be unblinded so that patients who had been randomly assigned to supportive care and a placebo pill could receive the new medicine.

The survival benefit was statistically significant, although how much time was gained isn’t yet available. Overall survival benefits are expected to be reported at an upcoming scientific meeting.

Patients enrolled in the randomized Phase III CORRECT trial had already had their cancer get worse on all standard approved treatments. Read the rest of this entry »