Colon Cancer News and Research

Latest Colon Cancer News and Research

How to make the most of expiring health coverage

"Job loss or the fear of it has pushed more people to use their employer-sponsored health insurance before they lose it. Major health insurers have seen their medical costs rise in recent quarters, in part because people covered by employer-sponsored plans have rushed to use services before their benefits are cut off."

3 Sep 2009

Natural food compounds may play a vital role in cancer treatment

Research in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University suggests that some natural food compounds, which previously have been studied for their ability to prevent cancer, may be able to play a more significant role in treating it - working side-by-side with the conventional drugs that are now used in chemotherapy.

1 Sep 2009

Researchers discover that some wild plants possess a high nutritional value

A group of researchers from the Fat Institute (CSIC) and the University of Seville have confirmed that some wild plants have a high nutritional value. The scientists have found that several species of lupins from the mountains of Andalusia have a protein content similar to that of other cultivated legumes, as they publish in the online version of the Food Chemistry magazine.

28 Aug 2009

Research round-up: Highlights from recent releases

American Health Care Association (AHCA): State-by-State Medicare Cuts to Nursing Homes -- "A new [AHCA] analysis of the pending House health reform bill [HR 3200], combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in fifteen states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over that same time period," according to an AHCA description of the study. "The assessment was based on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of both HR 3200 and the recent CMS funding rule, along with Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) utilization data." A breakdown of each of the 15 states facing ten-year billion dollar cuts to Medicare-funded nursing homes is available online (8/20).

28 Aug 2009

Study suspects involvement of PPAR-γ in gastric carcinogenesis

Recently, the potential of PPAR-γ as a target for the prevention and treatment of cancer has been widely studied. However, the potential therapeutic role of PPAR-γ agonists has been questioned, based on contradictory results. Studies using animal models of colon cancer found that PPAR-γ agonists increased the development of colon tumors.

27 Aug 2009

Scientists discover a new way for preventing liver metastases

Scientists in Switzerland have discovered a way to block the growth of human colon cancer cells, preventing the disease from reaching advanced stages and the development of liver metastases. The research, published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine, shows that blocking the so-called Hedgehog-GLI pathway can prevent the growth of tumours, metastatic lesions and cancer stem cells, the cells thought to lie at the root of cancer growth.

27 Aug 2009

Research reveals that diarrheal bacteria can cause colon cancers

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have figured out how bacteria that cause diarrhea may also be the culprit in some colon cancers. The investigators say that strains of the common Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) dupe immune system cells into permitting runaway colon tissue inflammation, a precursor for malignant growth.

24 Aug 2009

Hospitals treating more black cancer patients experience worse survival rates

Hospitals that treat more black cancer patients have worse survival rates on average for patients with breast and colon cancer, regardless of race, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

21 Aug 2009

Forty-six uninsured San Diego County patients to receive free surgeries, procedures

Forty-six uninsured San Diego County patients will receive donated outpatient surgeries and procedures on Saturday, August 22, 2009, through an ongoing partnership between Project Access San Diego (PASD), a program of the San Diego County Medical Society Foundation, Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance Healthcare Foundation. PASD mobilizes medical volunteers to provide free surgeries and procedures to uninsured San Diegans.

19 Aug 2009

New colon cancer target

New research led by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found a drug target that suggests a potent way to kill colon cancers that resist current drugs aimed at blocking a molecule found on the surface of cells.

18 Aug 2009

Giant pituitary adenoma can be safely removed through nasal route

It’s even worse than being told you have a brain tumor: having a tumor so large, it’s in a category all its own. Giant pituitary adenoma is a so-called “benign” tumor that can cause visual loss and impair many of the body’s most basic functions. But fortunately, even the largest of these giant tumors—which can grow to the size of an egg and invade nearby structures--can be treated effectively using a multimodality approach starting with minimally invasive surgery through the nose, according to a new study at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center.

12 Aug 2009

Teva announces approval of Oxaliplatin injection

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and launch of Oxaliplatin Injection.

11 Aug 2009

Hospira launches generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' Eloxatin

Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP) today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and launch of oxaliplatin injection in the United States.

11 Aug 2009

Aldose reductase inhibition shows promise for asthma

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have found that a single enzyme is apparently critical to most allergen-provoked asthma attacks - and that activity of the enzyme, known as aldose reductase, can be significantly reduced by compounds that have already undergone clinical trials as treatments for complications of diabetes.

11 Aug 2009

Regular use of aspirin after colorectal cancer diagnosis may reduce the risk of cancer death

In the August 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study's authors also find that the aspirin-associated survival advantage was seen primarily in patients with tumors expressing the COX-2 enzyme, a characteristic of two-thirds of colorectal cancers.

11 Aug 2009

Canadian health care system may be getting 'bum rap'

Amid the debate about reforming heath care in the United States, it's tough to turn on your television these days without hearing a political ad condemning the Canadian health care system.

11 Aug 2009

Launch of national colon cancer awareness campaign

The Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) today announced the launch of its national awareness campaign, Cities Go Blue for Colon Cancer. Philadelphia, PA has been selected as the inaugural host city with events kicking off on September 26-27, 2009.

10 Aug 2009

Colon cancer may yield to cellular sugar starvation

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have discovered how two cancer-promoting genes enhance a tumor's capacity to grow and survive under conditions where normal cells die.

6 Aug 2009

Discovery of potential candidate protein for cancer vaccines

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals.

4 Aug 2009

Heavy drinkers have much higher risk of developing cancer

Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the population at large, says a group of Montreal epidemiologists and cancer researchers.

4 Aug 2009