Today, Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), announced the appointment of the following 15 individuals to the Methodology Committee of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
GAO Announces Members of the Methodology Committee of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Posted by on January 21st, 2011
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New GeneTest Guides Stage II Colon Cancer Risk
Posted by on January 21st, 2011
Most patients with stage II colon cancer will be fine after surgery, with little risk that their cancer will come back.
But one in five will have cancer spread beyond their colon.
Better information about which patients will relapse could spare many from the risks of chemotherapy.
A new gene test announced at the 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium in San Francisco helps provide answers to which patients are at highest risk and could help patients and their doctors make better decisions about follow-up chemotherapy after surgery.
ColoPrint, an 18 gene tumor tissue signature, found that three out of four patients with stage II colon cancer had only about a 5 percent risk of recurrence, very similar to stage I patients. For the remaining high risk patients, one in five (20 percent) had cancer return.
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The Traveling Advocate Flies . . .and Flies . . . and Flies
Posted by on January 19th, 2011
“Thank you for what you said.”
“Thanks for your comments.”
Words heard over and over in elevators, hallways, and coffee breaks in the last couple of weeks, as Colorectal Cancer Coalition research advocates spoke out during research-focused meetings … appreciation expressed for the reality-based voices of patients as research gets planned and evaluated.
We’ve been busy with three different meetings in the last ten days . . . and a big one coming up.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Screening Rates Creep Up . . . But Leave Many Behind
Posted by on January 18th, 2011
Overall, colorectal cancer screening rates were higher in 2008 than in 2006.
By 2008 almost 2 of every 3 Americans over the age of 50 had either had a fecal occult blood test in the past year or sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the past ten years.
Health insurance made a huge different with two-thirds (66.6 percent) of people with insurance up-to-date with screening compared to about one-third (37.5 percent) of those without health insurance. Read the rest of this entry »
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Delaying Chemotherapy After Surgery
Posted by on December 29th, 2010
Does it hurt to delay chemotherapy after surgery for stage II and III colon cancer?
A new study says it does.
Waiting more than 2 months, doubles the risk that patients will die. Read the rest of this entry »
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