Deciding whether small colon polyps were adenomas or less dangerous hyperplastic ones can be done safely during the colonoscopy exam itself.  Avoiding the need for an additional pathology test could make diagnosis faster and less expensive.

Adenomas have the potential to develop into colorectal cancer, but not all colon polyps are adenomas.  Standard procedure is to remove all polyps seen during a colonoscopy and send them to the pathology lab for testing.   However, doctors in London were able to accurately predict which polyps were adenomas more than 9 out of 10 times with colonoscopy alone. Read the rest of this entry »

Colorectal cancer patients whose CEA blood tests rise at the beginning of chemotherapy and then fall (CEA flare) do better than patients with a consistently rising CEA.   CEA flares don’t necessarily predict worsening cancer.

Compared to patients with consistently rising carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), patients who had a CEA flare had more tumor shrinkage, longer time before their cancer got worse, and longer survival time. Read the rest of this entry »

Briefly

Patients with diabetes aren’t any more likely to develop neuropathy in hands and feet when treated with oxaliplatin.

Learn more about  current colorectal cancer prevention and treatment at a Memorial Sloan Kettering CancerSmart workshop on November 12.  NIH has a downloaded booklet on palliative care, and Oncology on Canvas is looking for artwork from cancer patients and their families and caregivers. Read the rest of this entry »

ACG Annual Meeting 2009 Brief Reports

The American College of Gastroenterology held its Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego from October 23 – 28, 2009 in San Diego.  Research reported during the meeting included how videorecordings of colonoscopy improved quality tests, the effectiveness of a drug that reduces constipation from opiate drugs, and support for guidelines that call for screening colonoscopy beginning at age 40 for people with a family history of colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Regina Benjamin (AP Photo)

The  Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Regina Benjamin, MD as Surgeon General of the United States on October 28, 2009.

Dr. Benjamin is the founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama, where she often provides care for the poor at no cost.

She has won a number of awards including a MacArthur Genius award, the Nelson Mandala Award for Health and Human Rights, and the 2000 National Caring Award which was inspired by Mother Teresa.

In 1995 she was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees , the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman on the AMA Board.