Taking a daily multivitamin didn’t improve survival or reduce the risk that colon cancer would come back for stage III patients enrolled in a clinical trial of chemotherapy after surgery.

Although about half of patients in the trial took a multivitamin supplement during their treatment, the vitamin didn’t improve their outcomes, nor did it reduce side effects.  At the same time, multivitamin use didn’t have a detrimental effect. Read the rest of this entry »

Colorectal cancer patients benefited when they continued to include Avastin® (bevacizumab) in their chemotherapy plan after their cancer got worse after initial treatment.

They lived longer after beginning a second round of chemotherapy with Avastin than did other patients who got chemo without Avastin or those who didn’t get any chemotherapy at all.

The results are based on the ARIES study which observed patients after cancer progressed after either first or second line chemotherapy with Avastin.  The analysis will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in June. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Patients with stage III colon cancer didn’t do better or worse if their tumor had mutated KRAS.

Studying KRAS in the tumors of about half the patients in a large clinical trial of chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer, researchers found no differences in disease-free, recurrence-free, or overall survival.  This remained true no matter which chemotherapy the patients received. Read the rest of this entry »

Patients being treated for the first time with chemotherapy and Avastin® (bevacizumab) do worse if Vectibix™ (panitumumab) is added to their chemotherapy.  Median time until the cancer progresses is shorter, and they have more serious side effects.

KRAS status made no difference.  Both patients with wild-type and mutated KRAS in their tumors had worse outcomes when panitumumab was part of their treatment.

The research team recommends that Vectibix not be added to chemotherapy with Avastin to treat colorectal cancer that has spread. Read the rest of this entry »