Cancer News
CancerConnect News: One in every six colorectal cancer patients (16 percent) diagnosed under age 50 has at least one inherited genetic mutation that increases his or her cancer risk and many of these mutations could go undetected with the current screening approach, according to initial data from a statewide colorectal cancer screening study conducted at …
CancerConnect News: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) inhibitor drugs are a type of precision cancer medicine commonly used to treat lung, colon, head and neck and other cancers that over express the EGFR. There are several EGFR inhibitor drugs and these cause similar side effects. The EGFR pathway is a normal biologic pathway found in …
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1) Choose Your Doctor Carefully Medical oncologists are the primary doctors involved with colon cancer and work in collaboration with surgeons and gastroenterologists. Pick a medical oncologist carefully, rely on people you trust including nurses and other health care professionals who make help with recommendations. Make sure your doctor is someone you feel comfortable interacting …
Continue reading "Diagnosed with Colon Cancer: 10 Tips on How to Get The Most From Your Doctor"
Screening guidelines should initiate conversations with your healthcare team. Charles H Weaver MD, Editor CancerConnect CancerConnect News: The goal of cancer screening is to find disease at early stages in people who are otherwise asymptomatic—before it causes symptoms and when it may be more easily treatable. Screening tests are not available for every type of …
Continue reading "Start 2018 Right: Plan for Cancer Screening and Save Lives!"
Recent successes in genetically targeted precision cancer medicines are improving outcomes in a number of cancers. Ensuring patients undergo genomic sequencing to determine if they have treatable targets is increasingly important to ensure patients receive the most appropriate personalized care. Precision cancer medicine utilizes molecular diagnostic testing, including DNA sequencing, to identify cancer-driving abnormalities in …
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) are medicines that are used for the treatment of a wide range of musculoskeletal illnesses including spinal disorders, osteoarthritis and inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. NSAIDs effectively relieve pain, inflammation, and fever. A number of treatment guidelines for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic low back pain recommend the use of NSAIDs …
Continue reading "NSAIDs Decrease Risk of Colorectal Cancer"
The purpose of precision cancer medicine is not to categorize or classify cancers solely by site of origin, but to define the genomic alterations in the cancer’s DNA that are driving that specific cancer. Precision cancer medicine utilizes molecular diagnostic testing, including DNA sequencing, to identify cancer-driving abnormalities in a cancer’s genome. Once a genetic abnormality …
The first-ever completed comparative clinical trial of the use of vitamin D as a colorectal cancer therapy has shown that disease progression is slowed with high-dose supplements according to lead author Kimmie Ng, MD, of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, who presented the study results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology …
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Many colon cancer patients can cut their chemotherapy regimen in half, improving their quality of life and reducing their chances of having debilitating side effects, according to the results of a major study released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting. The goal of the study was to determine whether a three-month course of …
Continue reading "Shorter Duration Chemotherapy Possible for Early Stage Colon Cancer"
Nearly 136,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with colorectal (CRC) cancer this year,1 and more than 50% will have their cancer spread to their liver.2 Many individuals with CRC involving the liver erroneously conclude that they have no treatment options other than systemic therapy. There are however several therapeutic options for the treatment of …
Continue reading "Know Your Treatment Options: Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases"