Patients who had surgery for colon or rectal cancer performed at a National Cancer Institute Designated Center had less risk of death immediately after surgery and better long-term survival.

Looking at nearly 34,000 people who had surgery for colon cancer and 8,600 who had rectal cancer surgery, researchers found a 26 percent increase in long term survival when the operation was done in an NCI-designated cancer center.

Having surgery in an NCI-designated center cut the risk of dying in the hospital or within 30 days after surgery in half for colon cancer patients.  Post surgery deaths were 6.7 percent in non-NCI centers and 3.2 percent in NCI-designated centers.  There was even more difference for rectal cancer where deaths after surgery were 5 percent in non-NCI and 1.9 percent in NCI centers. Read the rest of this entry »

While researchers have found that colorectal cancer tumors that have mutated KRAS genes don’t respond to treatment with EFGR inhibitors Erbitux®(cetuximab) and Vectibix™(panitumumab), is the same thing true for other drugs?

5-FU (fluorouracil) is the backbone of most colorectal cancer treatment, given alone or in combination with other drugs.  What does KRAS status mean when 5-FU is the only treatment? Read the rest of this entry »

Another study has shown that colon or rectal cancer patients whose tumors have mutated KRAS don’t benefit from Erbitux® (cetuximab).  However, in the study when only patients with normal or wild-type KRAS were considered, survival time almost doubled after treatment with Erbitux began. Read the rest of this entry »