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 »

In his speech before a joint session of Congress on September 9, 2009, President Obama called out colorectal cancer screening as saving both money and lives.  To applause from listening members of Congress, he said:

And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies because there’s no reason we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse. That makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives.

We applaud the President’s public acknowledgment that colorectal cancer screening saves lives and money.

Screening saves lives by finding cancers early when they are most treatable.  Screening also prevents colorectal cancer by finding and removing precancerous polyps, which keeps them from ever growing into cancer.

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This week we review research on the impacts of colonoscopy screening in Germany, folic acid flour supplementation in Chile, and untreated anxiety and pain during the last months of life on surviving spouses of cancer patients.

In the news are reports of colon cancer surgery using a tiny incision in the belly button, requirements for KRAS testing before insurance will pay for Erbitux or Vectibix treatment, and information about how stem cells in the intestinal tract become cancer stem cells, driving the development and progression of colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »