Colon Cancer News and Research

Latest Colon Cancer News and Research

Vitamin D receptor emerges as key player amid gut bacteria, scientists find

Within the human digestive tract is a teeming mass of hundreds of types of bacteria, a potpourri of microbes numbering in the trillions that help us digest food and keep bad bacteria in check.

8 Jul 2010

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

USA Today: Hospital heart attack death rates fell, according to new Medicare data. "Death rates at 4,569 hospitals that treat Medicare patients who suffer heart attacks fell by almost half a percentage point, from a national average of 16.6% last year to 16.2%. Death rates for most hospitals ranged from about 14.5% to 17.9%. ...

8 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 7, 2010

Today's biggest health policy news surrounds an announcement by the White House that President Obama will install a new Medicare and Medicaid chief with a recess appointment the bypasses the confirmation process.

7 Jul 2010

IBM, University of Missouri collaborate to develop cloud computing environment for genomics research

IBM and the University of Missouri today announced a life sciences research initiative using IBM high performance computing technologies to advance the school's bioinformatics research projects. The goal of the initiative is to develop a first-of-a-kind cloud computing environment for genomics research collaboration at a regional level.

2 Jul 2010

Plant extract effective against ulcerative colitis in mice

A South Dakota State University scientist's research shows an extract made from a food plant in the Brassica family was effective in alleviating signs of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel condition, in mice.

2 Jul 2010

Epigentek develops new approach for identification of "sixth DNA base" 5-hmC

Research experts in the epigenetic field from Epigentek have developed a new, breakthrough approach for the identification of the "sixth DNA base," 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC). This technology is based on a high throughput, strip-well format and is also incorporated into the first commercially available product, the MethylFlash(TM) Hydroxymethylated DNA Quantification Kit, for rapidly quantifying hydroxymethylated DNA.

30 Jun 2010

Asbestos induces cell necrosis, promotes tumor growth

More than 20 million people in the U.S., and many more worldwide, who have been exposed to asbestos are at risk of developing mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the membranes that cover the lungs and abdomen that is resistant to current therapies.

30 Jun 2010

Tolerx presents preclinical data on TRX518 anti-GITR immunotherapy for cancer

Tolerx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer by modulating T cell activity, presented results from preclinical studies with TRX518, an early-stage agent Tolerx is developing as a treatment for cancer. TRX518 is a monoclonal antibody to glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR) and is designed to enhance the immune system's ability to attack tumors by activating and rendering T effector cells resistant to T regulatory cell suppression.

28 Jun 2010

Automated calls can increase colon cancer screening rates by 30%: Study

Simple, automated telephone reminders can increase colon cancer screening rates by 30 percent, according to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study funded by the National Cancer Institute that appears in the July print edition of Medical Care.

25 Jun 2010

Scientists report potential toxicity of nanoparticles in consumer products

Scientists are reporting that particle size affects the toxicity of zinc oxide, a material widely used in sunscreens. Particles smaller than 100 nanometers are slightly more toxic to colon cells than conventional zinc oxide. Solid zinc oxide was more toxic than equivalent amounts of soluble zinc, and direct particle to cell contact was required to cause cell death.

25 Jun 2010

Shift in balance between good and bad bacteria in gut could be a harbinger of colon cancer: Study

The human body contains more bacteria than it does cells. These bacterial communities can have a positive effect on our health, by training our immune systems and helping to metabolize the foods we eat. But they can also set us up to develop digestive disorders, skin diseases, and obesity.

23 Jun 2010

New presentations on neuroendocrine tumors at ESMO 12th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer

Groundbreaking studies will be presented at the ESMO 12th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer next week in Barcelona, Spain, including exciting new data on treatment for neuroendocrine tumors. "The presentations this year are very significant for clinicians, and outline real progress in the development of agents that are effective in managing and treating gastrointestinal diseases," says Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD of the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium and Congress co-chair.

23 Jun 2010

Protect Your Lungs, LUNGevity Foundation announce merger

To combat the nation's number one cancer killer, non-profit organizations Protect Your Lungs and LUNGevity Foundation today announced they will join forces in an effort to fund research and hope for a cure for lung cancer. Together, the new organization hopes to create the same successful improvements for lung cancer mortality rates as those experienced by breast, prostate, and colon cancer. The merged organization, committed to elevating lung cancer on the national agenda, will operate under the name LUNGevity Foundation with offices in Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

18 Jun 2010

Curis reports topline results from GDC-0449 Phase II clinical trial for metastatic colorectal cancer

Curis, Inc., a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced topline results from a Phase II clinical trial conducted by Roche and Genentech, Curis' collaborator and a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, of GDC-0449, a first-in-class Hedgehog pathway inhibitor. GDC-0449 was tested in combination with Avastin® (bevacizumab) and FOLFOX or FOLFIRI chemotherapy in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

17 Jun 2010

Researchers examine rates of cancer in British white and British Indian population

British Indians have fewer cases of many different cancers including breast, prostate, colon and lung than the British white population, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer1 today (Wednesday).

16 Jun 2010

CRH Medical's marketing program provides new patient inquiries to physicians

CRH Medical Corporation announced today that its innovative marketing program is providing significant new patient inquiries to physicians listed on the Company's website who have been trained in the use of the Company's proprietary technology and methods known as the CRH O'Regan System.

15 Jun 2010

Fluorescent cancerous tumors for early detection

Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique F-d-rale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have established a procedure where cancerous tumors in the bladder become fluorescent and are more easily discoverable under blue light. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the technique- already in practice in Europe - for the American market. Under the name Cysview-, the product is commercialized by Photocure and GE Healthcare as the most efficient detection technique for early stage bladder cancer.

14 Jun 2010

Telormedix initiates Phase I/II clinical study of TMX-101 for treating NMIBC

Telormedix, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on targeted immunity in the treatment of cancer and other diseases, today announced the start of a Phase I/II clinical study of TMX-101 for the treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. TMX-101 is an immunotherapeutic compound and Telormedix has already recruited the first patients for this clinical study.

14 Jun 2010

Study finds survival disparities among patients with colorectal cancer

Disparities in cancer stage and treatment are the main reasons why Medicaid-insured and uninsured rectal cancer patients are twice as likely to die within five years as privately insured patients. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Because poorer survival among rectal cancer patients without private insurance is largely attributable to later cancer stage at diagnosis and inadequate treatment, disparities may be lessened through health care reform.

14 Jun 2010

Type 2 diabetes doubles risk of cancer in women

Type 2 adult-onset diabetes causes insulin-like hormones to circulate through the body. A new study finds this has a surprisingly positive effect on reducing the rate of prostate cancer in men, but is bad news for women: Type 2 diabetes may double the risk of female genital and other cancers.

11 Jun 2010