Latest News & Updates
Elderly people who are frail, older, widowed, or female have more difficulty finishing chemotherapy
Patients with stage III colon cancer are less likely to die from their disease if they receive chemotherapy after surgery to remove their colon tumors (adjuvant treatment). But not all older stage III patients on Medicare will be treated with chemotherapy, and, of those who begin treatment, not all will complete it.
Researchers at the University of Washington discovered factors among elderly patients that led to discontinuing chemotherapy prematurely. Analyzing information from a combined cancer information (SEER) and Medicare database, they found that about 20% of patients did not complete chemotherapy. They had poorer survival than those who were able to finish treatment.
Factors that made it more difficult to complete chemotherapy included:
- Being female
- Increasing age
- Being widowed
- Having poor social and psychological support
- Frail health
- Having to be hospitalized during treatment other than for chemotherapy itself
Race, household income, or clinical information about the tumor did not appear to affect chemotherapy completion. Patients treated by medical oncologists were more likely to finish chemotherapy.
Patients were more likely to be receive adjuvant chemotherapy at all if they were younger than 75, male, married, and living in a higher-income census tract. African Americans had lower rates of chemo.
Sharon A. Dobie and her colleagues reported their findings in the May 3, 2006 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
In an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Victor Grann and Franco Muggia review the history of adjuvant chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer and call for additional prospective studies that would help understand the factors that predict which patients will be unable to complete a full course of chemotherapy..
Posted by Kate Murphy on May 4th, 2006
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
A Celebration of Hope with CRC Survivor Vince Papale planned by the Wellness Community of Philadelphia
The Wellness Community of Philadelphia will sponsor a full day symposium A Celebration of Hope on Friday, June 9, 2006 for cancer survivors and their loved ones.
Featured speaker will be former Philadelphia Eagles player Vince Papale who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2001. Five years later he is cancer-free.
Papale came to the Eagles in 1976 as a 30–year-old rookie who had never played college football. He eventually became team captain and was honored by the Eagles as Man of the Year in 1978 for his many charitable activities. His life story is the subject of a soon-to-be-published book and a movie Invincible that will be released in the fall of 2006.
Other speakers during Celebration of Hope include singer and caregiver Phoebe Snow, writer and cancer survivor Wendy Harpham M.D., Dr. Harold Freeman who developed the patient navigator program, and Gabriel Rocco. Dr. Louis Weiner will lead a workshop Frankly Speaking about New Discoveries in Cancer: Special Focus on Colorectal Cancer.
- Celebration of Hope
- Friday, June 9, 2006
- 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
- Loew’s Philadelphia Hotel
- 1200 Market Street
- Philadelphia, PA 19107
- To register call: 215-879-7733 or register online.
Continental breakfast and lunch are included. The event is free for cancer survivors and their families.
Posted by Kate Murphy on May 3rd, 2006
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Post OVAC Lobby Day thoughts
This year was the fourth One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) Lobby Day in which I participated. This was the best one and I’ve had some good ones.
Posted by Dusty Weaver on April 30th, 2006
Posted in: Policy & Advocacy News | 1 Comment »
Medicare Part D coverage for individuals must remain stable during the plan year
Insurance plans under Medicare Part D must continue to cover those plan participants who are already taking a particular drug even if the drug is removed from their formulary according to a policy announced on April 26, 2006 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
If insurance plans change the drugs covered in their formularies, co-pays, or other restrictions plan members already taking those drugs must be exempt from the new rules for the remainder of the plan year.
There are some limited exceptions to the policy including
- Drugs that are shown in new research to be unsafe for some patients.
- When a new, lower-cost generic form of the drug becomes available during the plan year.
At the end of a plan year, individuals have the opportunity to review their coverage and enroll in a different plan if they choose.
Medicare Part D insurance must cover all prescribed cancer drugs (those not given in the hospital or doctor’s office) but insurance plans can limit drugs covered in other categories, as long as they provide coverage with some comparable medications within the category.
Other coverage of the CMS policy change can be found at Kaiser Family Foundation Kaiser Network.
Posted by Kate Murphy on April 27th, 2006
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Intergel use in colorectal surgery leads to complications and is not recommended
Adhesions are a significant consequence of abdominal surgery, including surgery to treat colorectal cancer. Intergel (ferric hyaluronate gel) has been used successfully in gynecologic surgery to prevent adhesions, but its use in colon resection wasn’t well understood.
Researchers randomized patients who were about to undergo colon resection to having Interget placed in the abdominal cavity during the operation or not having the treatment. Initially their goal was to enroll 200 patients, but the study was halted after 32 patients because of the high number of complications in the Intergel group.
65% of the treatment group experienced a surgical complication compared to 27% of the controls. Five patients in the Intergel group had leaks where the colon was reconnected (anastomosis) compared to one control. Ten Intergel patients had prolonged time to recovery of bowel function (ileus) compared to 2 in the control group. There was 1 case of peritonitis. Wound healing problems were also common in the Intergel group but the difference was not significant.
The study, published in the April 2006 issue of Annals of Surgery concluded:
The use of Intergel in abdominal surgery where the gastrointestinal tract is opened leads to unacceptably high rates of postoperative complications.
adhesions colon resection Intergel
Posted by Kate Murphy on April 24th, 2006
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