Donations are being accepted by the ASCO Foundation to help cancer patients affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita who are in need of critical services.

100% of all contributions to the **ASCO Foundation Hurricane Relief Fund** will be available through non-profit organizations that provide direct assistance to cancer patients, including *CancerCare*.

We realize that many cancer patients and their families who have been displaced are not only dealing with the challenges of their cancer diagnosis and treatment, but also with the trauma of uncertainty and temporary relocation. Funds will be made available through the end of 2006 to make sure this support reaches cancer patients as their individual situations and needs emerge over the coming year.

Donations may be made in memory of a loved one or in honor of a person living with cancer.

[More information on how to make a donation](http://www.ascofoundation.org/foundation/FoundationMain/1,2094,_12-003592-00_18-0042395-00_19-0042402-00_20-001,00.aspASC)

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, 70 years of age or older, were successfully treated with a first-line combination of oxaliplatin and capecitabine (XELOX) in an Italian study. There was a response rate of 41% among patients in the trial, and side effects were manageable.

Patients in the trial received an intravenous infusion of oxaliplatin on the first day of a three-week treatment cycle followed by 2 weeks of daily oral capecitabine and a week of rest from treatment. Doses of both oxaliplatin (Eloxotin©) and capecitabine (Xeloda©) were lower during the first and second treatment cycles and increased if patients did not have serious toxicity.

Seventy-six (76) patients were treated during the study with 2 complete and 29 partial responses. The median time until their cancers got worse was 8.% months, median overall survival time was 14.4 months.

5% of study patients had severely *lowered blood counts.* 8% suffered from *neuropathy* in their hands and feet severe enough to cause pain or interfere with functioning. 13% had advanced *hand and foot syndrome* with redness, pain, and cracking of the skin.

Pasquale Comella, M.D. and his colleagues from the Southern Italy Oncology Group reported the results of their study in the July 15, 2005 issue of *Cancer* (Volume 104, Issue 2 Pages 282 – 289). They concluded:

Fit elderly patients with MCC showed a good RR to XELOX with only mild toxicity observed in most patients. XELOX, should, therefore be considered as an important therapeutic option for elderly patients with MCC.

[Read the study abstract in *Cancer*.](http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110528042/ABSTRACT)

Scientists in the United Kingdom have isolated a new strain of *Clostridium difficile* (sometimes called c. diff.) that produces a highly toxic form of diarrhea that does not respond to commonly used antibiotics such as Cipro (ciprofloxacin).

The strain, NAP1/027, was first seen in an outbreak in hospitals in Quebec, Canada, but has also been associated with diarrheal disease in hospitals as widely spread as the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands. Researchers also obtained bacteria from the new strain in diarrhea in Quebec that was community, not hospital, acquired.

Clostridium difficile is a risk for patients recovering from colorectal surgery and those receiving chemotherapy. It can also result from changes in the healthy intestinal bacterial flora after the use of antibiotics.

The strain produces as much as 16-23 times the dangerous toxins as older c. diff. infection and can be fatal.. In 2003 and the first half of 2004, over 100 people died from the disease in the University of Sherbrooke Hospital near Montreal.

The research team examined bacteria from 124 patients involved in the Quebec epidemic and found that 67% of the hospital-acquired infections were due to the new strain — NAP1/027. However, there was also a 37% NAP1/027 infection rate among those who became sick in the community.

Michael Warny, M.D. and his team reported their findings in the September 24, 2005 issue of *The Lancet.* They offered this interpretation:

The severity of C difficile-associated disease caused by NAP1/027 could result from hyperproduction of toxins A and B. Dissemination of this strain in North America and Europe could lead to important changes in the epidemiology of C difficile-associated disease.
A

[Read an article about the NAP1/027 strain on *Medpage Today*](http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/tb1/1788)

[Read the study abstract in *The Lancet.*](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS014067360567420X/abstract)

Beta-carotene supplements can increase the risk for tobacco-related cancers, including colorectal cancer, in smokers. However, beta-carotene has the opposite, protective effect in people who have never smoked.

In a ten-year study of 60,000 Frenchwomen, smokers with the highest intake of beta-carotene, including those who used supplements, had more than twice the risk of tobacco-related cancers and those with a low intake from fruits and vegetables. However, non-smokers with high beta-carotene intake had a lower risk of smoking related cancers: after 10 years their risk of cancer was 82 per 100,000 persons compared to 182 per 100,000 for those with a low intake.

Previous research has suggested that beta-carotene may be a co-carcinogen with tobacco smoke enhancing changes in DNA that lead to cancers.

Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, MD, PhD led the study which is reported in the September 21, 2005 issue of the *Journal of the National Cancer Institute*. The team concluded:

Beta-carotene intake was inversely associated with risk of tobacco-related cancers among nonsmokers with a statistically significant dose-dependent relationship, whereas high beta-carotene intake was directly associated with risk among smokers.

In an accompanying editorial, [Cigarettes: A Smoking Gun in Chemoprevention](http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/jnci;97/18/1319) Susan T. Mayne and Scott M. Lippman from Yale University and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas question the strength of the conclusions reached by the French study because such a small number of women actually used beta-carotene supplements. However, they stress the importance of separating smokers and non-smokers in studies of nutrients and supplementation.

[Read more about the study on *WedMD*](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/112/110328?src=RSS_PUBLIC)

[Read an article about the study on *Medicine Net*](http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=53467)

[Read recommendations for use of supplements and beta-carotene rich fruits and vegetables as a result of the study on *MedPage Today*](http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Smoking/tb/1777)

[Read the study abstract in the *Journal of the National Cancer Institute*](http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jnci;97/18/1338)

Women with breast cancer were almost twice as likely to have adenomas (polyps) discovered during a screening colonoscopy than were age-matched controls without cancer. This was particularly true among older women, aged 65 to 85, where the risk more than tripled.

188 women with breast cancer scheduled for a screening colonoscopy were matched to 376 women of similar age. Overall 14.9% of the breast cancer patients had an adenoma identified during the colonoscopy compared to 9.3 % of the control group. Among women 65-to 85, 31% had an adenoma compared to 10% of those without breast cancer. Colorectal cancer was found infrequently — 2 cases in each group.

Women with breast cancer who were on anti-estrogen therapy tended to have lower rates of adenomas than those who were not on therapy.

Thomas Ochsenkühn, MD headed a team in Munich, Germany who concluded:

Women with breast cancer above the age of 65 years have an increased risk of colorectal adenomas compared to women without breast cancer. Women with a diagnosis of breast cancer should especially be encouraged to participate in colorectal cancer-screening programs which, in most countries, call for screening of all average-risk individuals over the age of 50 years.

[Read the study abstract in the online edition *Digestion* -- Vol.. 72, No.2-3, 2005.](http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ProduktNr=223838&Ausgabe=231385&ArtikelNr=88370)