Gastrointestinal Cancer

A list of events for the month of November

The Colon Cancer Alliance will be awarding 20 individuals with $300 each to help offset the cost of receiving a colonoscopy.

Patients with certain lung and colorectal cancers whose physicians participated in weekly, treatment-focused tumor board meetings had improved survival and were 60% more likely to enroll in a clinical trial

As new therapies enter the treatment landscape for metastatic disease, the role of the oncology nurse becomes even more critical in educating patients about what side effects to look out for and the importance of reporting any adverse events promptly.

A new study has found that obesity and high inflammation during adolescence was associated with an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer later in life

The Screen This Too! campaign, created by the Colon Cancer Alliance, expands the awareness and prevention conversation. Simple in concept, broad in scope – this campaign encourages you to not only think pink during October, but to consider your colon too.

Two active maintenance regimens following disease stabilization with standard induction therapy demonstrated superior disease-free outcomes compared with no treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

A study conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic has found that family conflicts and other nonmedical problems may raise their risk of complications following cancer surgery.

The event addresses the management of symptoms and complications of chronic pancreatitis.

The National Pancreas Foundation (NPF), a nonprofit organization that provides hope for those suffering from pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, has announced that it will build the first-ever national patient registry devoted to all pancreatic diseases, including pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis.

Frontline therapy with bevacizumab or cetuximab combined with either FOLFOX or FOLFIRI yielded a comparable survival benefit of approximately 29 months in patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), according to results from the phase III CALGB/SWOG 80405 trial.

Cologuard is indicated to screen adult men and women aged 50 years or older who are at typical average-risk for CRC

The National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) provides hope for those suffering from pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer through funding cutting-edge research, advocating for new and better therapies, and providing support and education for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.

The FDA has approved Cologuard as the first noninvasive stool-based DNA test for the detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) in asymptomatic individuals at average risk, based on clinical trial results demonstrating superiority to the fecal immunochemical test (FIT).

Several new genetic risk markers in pancreatic cancer have been found, scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced.

Researchers now have a better idea of how a mismatch in the DNA repair protein can lead to the development of colorectal cancer.

Linda Grush, Illinois chapter president, Debbie's Dream Foundation, explains what happens when a patient with stomach cancer reaches out to the foundation for more information.

The risk for pancreatic cancer dramatically decreases the longer a person takes low-dose aspirin

Martha Raymond, patient support and outreach director, Colon Cancer Alliance, gives an overview of the advocacy organization and some of the services it provides.

Recent studies have established the link between a gastric ulcer and stomach cancer. A gastric or peptic ulcer is a sore that can develop on the walls of the stomach when the protective lining in our stomach stops working.

Colon cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States and only 60% of Americans report being up-to-date with the recommended screening guidelines.

I was diagnosed with stage IV advanced, incurable stomach (gastric) cancer in April 2008 when I was only 40 years old

A noninvasive stool DNA test may be a new option to increase rates of colorectal cancer screening, proving more sensitive in identifying colon cancer, advanced precancerous lesions, and polyps than currently available fecal immunochemical testing (FIT).

The FDA has approved ramucirumab (Cyramza) as a single-agent treatment for patients with unresectable or metastatic gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma following fluoropyrimidine- or platinum-containing therapy.

Patients who had a high Body Mass Index (BMI) before being diagnosed with colorectal cancer had an increased risk of death after diagnosis, even if their tumor harbored the microsatellite instability (MSI) marker

An analysis of phase III, second-line data found that RAS mutations beyond KRAS exon 2 are negative predictive biomarkers for the EGFR-inhibitor panitumumab (Vectibix) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Incidence and mortality has decreased 30% over past 10 years.

Study suggests that more than half of all patients received second and third line therapies.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among African Americans. The CRC mortality rate among African Americans is 29.8% compared with 19.5% among Caucasians.

The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2013, 142,820 individuals in the United States will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 72,570 with bladder cancer