Registration for the 2010 Call-on Congress Closes Feb. 1

March is quickly approaching, and now is the time to register for the 2010 Call-on Congress!

We already have a number of great speakers confirmed -

• Rep. Kay Granger who is the sponsor and author of H.R. 1189 (the Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act) will be speaking about her bill and about meeting with Members of Congress.
• Public relations expert Caitlin Carroll will be leading a breakout session on media advocacy.
• Dr. Jeffrey Chou will be speaking about the innovative research he has been doing with stem cells using a grant he received last year from C3’s Lisa Fund.
• Author and CRC survivor Brenda Elsagher will be talking about her battle with cancer.
• Donna Kimbark, PhD, PRCRP Program Manager, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs IPA of Battelle Memorial Institute will update attendees regarding colorectal cancer research in the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
• Dr. Laura Seeff, Acting Chief, Comprehensive Cancer Control Branch, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be talking about the program’s recent expansion and what is in store for 2010

Register today, to hear from these and lots of other great speakers!

Continue reading…

Posted by Catherine Knowles on January 12th, 2010
Posted in: C3 News, Policy & Advocacy News | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy, Call on Congress

Colon Cancer Patients with Close Family History Do Better

Colon cancer patients with a first-degree relative who also had colon cancer have a significantly better prognosis.

In a recent study, even after all risk factors were taken into consideration, they had less chance of cancer recurring and less chance of dying than people without a close family history.

However, the same thing was not true for rectal cancer. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on January 12th, 2010
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 3 Comments »
Tags: family history, survival benefit

FOLFOX Effectiveness Not Related to DNA Mismatch Repair or MSI

Colon cancers that are caused by defects in genes that repair damaged DNA don’t respond well to 5-FU treatment after surgery.

However, a new analysis of patients treated with FOLFOX (oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-FU) found no differences between patients with deficient mismatch repair tumors and those with normal gene expression.

In this small study of 135 patients, the research team concluded that adding oxaliplatin to 5-FU and leucovorin may overcome resistance to chemotherapy in mismatch repair deficient and microsatellite instable (MSI) colon cancer. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on January 6th, 2010
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 2 Comments »
Tags: deficident mismatch repair, FOLFOX, MSI

Value of KRAS and BRAF Mutations in Forecasting Survival

For stage II and III colon cancer, a tumor mutation in the KRAS gene does not impact either relapse-free survival or overall survival.

BRAF mutations, which are less common, don’t help with prognosis for relapse-free survival, but do provide information about overall survival in some tumors.   Patients with BRAF mutations and microsatellite-low or stable tumors had poorer overall survival than those without mutations. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on January 5th, 2010
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 1 Comment »
Tags: BRAF, KRAS, survival

Heart Drugs used for Congestive Heart Failure and Arrhythmia may have Anti-tumor Activity

Swedish scientists  reported in the American Cancer Society Journal of Natural Products that cardiac glycosides, which are a family of naturally derived drugs which are used to treat congestive heart failure and arrhythmia, show anti-tumor activity against colon cancer cells. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 5th, 2010
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 3 Comments »
Tags: Treating Colorectal Cancer