Fight Colorectal Cancer

Focus on Clinical Trials

Can adding Avastin® (bevacizumab) to FOLFOX therapy after surgery and presurgical chemoradiotherapy reduce recurrence and improve survival for patients with rectal cancer?

A clinical trial to answer this question is underway and is looking for participants.  Led by a team of researchers from several clinical trials cooperative groups, the E5204 study randomly assigns patients who have already completed a course of chemoradiotherapy and had their rectal cancer removed surgically to either FOLFOX or FOLFOX plus Avastin. Read the rest of this entry »

Heartburn is a common symptom for patients and family members. Recent reports show that home remedies can help to treat heartburn.

Patients who ever had severe heartburn or women who are pregnant know how bad this pain can be. If you have heartburn for the first time, you may end up in the emergency room because it is such a burning chest pain that is can look like a heart attack. In fact, one of the differential diagnoses of chest pain is heartburn. Read the rest of this entry »

Most of us love cocktails. . .Manhattan, gin and tonic etc. We know, depending on what we use and how they are mixed, they may taste different.

Well, for the treatment of colon cancer patients we have different cocktails to choose from such as FOLFOX and FOLFIRI. Both are combinations of 5-FU and leucovorin and either irinotecan or oxaliplatin. Both regimens have similar efficacy and similar extent of side effects, with oxaliplatin having more neurotoxicity and irinotecan more diarrhea.

However, depending how you mix and deliver the three drugs you may have significant differences in toxicity. It is amazing what differences exist among oncologists in how they mix up their chemotherapeutic cocktails. Not only the doses but also the timing of administration can differ dramatically, which can result in differences in toxicities for patients.

Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s reports include information about mismatch repair genes in stage IV colorectal cancer, colon surgery complications for very obese patients, and the impact of computerization on hospital outcomes.

In addition, there are links to the Surgeon General’s new Family Health Portrait and a report from Families USA on health care insurance costs for laid off workers. Read the rest of this entry »

The House of Representatives passed the Economic Stimulus Package last evening. The bill was approved by a vote of 244 to 188, with no Republicans voting in favor of it. Read the rest of this entry »