Experts Recommend Changes for Colorectal Screening Access and Quality

The first priority of an expert panel looking at increasing the number of people being screened for colorectal cancer was to “Eliminate financial barriers to colorectal cancer screening and appropriate follow up.”

Meeting for two days in Washington in February, a National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science conference considered what is known– and not known– about why people choose or avoid screening, how to improve screening quality, and what the healthcare capacity is to deliver colorectal cancer screening to the US population.

At the end of the meeting, the panel released a consensus statement with their recommendations for enhancing the use and quality of colorectal cancer screening. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on February 24th, 2010
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: colonoscopy, colorectal cancer screening, FOBT

Colorectal Cancer Research Briefs: Patients want colonoscopy videos

Briefly

• Hormone replacement therapy reduces risk of colon cancer.
• Smoking before age 30 increases chances that colon cancer will recur.
• Low CEA levels improve both survival and disease-free survival for stage II colon cancer.
• Most patients want videos of their colonoscopies and are willing to pay for them. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on February 10th, 2010
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 1 Comment »
Tags: CEA, colonoscopy, hormone replacement therapy, recurrence, survival

Risk During Colonoscopies

Recent publications have questioned the safety and adequacy of cancer screening procedures particular mammograms, but today I am reviewing the risks of colonoscopies.

There is no doubt that colonoscopies can prevent colon cancer almost 100%. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on November 24th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | No Comments »
Tags: colonoscopy, Preventing Colorectal Cancer

Faster, Cheaper Polyp Diagnosis

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. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on November 11th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 1 Comment »
Tags: colonoscopy

Gastroenterology Meeting Highlights

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. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on November 4th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: colonoscopy, colonoscopy screening, constipation