Treatment Strategies for Colorectal Cancer
Leonard B. Saltz, MD - Professor of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Attending Physician and Member, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Targeted Therapies in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancers
Todd Alekshun, MD, Chris Garrett, MD

Folic Acid May Be Beneficial in Patients with Recurrent Colorectal Adenoma Who Are Folate Deficient (11/20/2009)
Researchers affiliated with the Health Professional Follow-Up Study and the Nurses’ Health Study have reported that folic acid supplementation in patients with recurrent colorectal adenoma was not protective or harmful in most patients. However, patients who were folate deficient had a significant 39% decrease in adenoma recurrence. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication on October 28, 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Early Morning Colonoscopies Detect More Polyps (11/13/2009)
Researchers affiliated with the Veterans Administration of greater Los Angeles have reported that a greater number of polyps was detected among patients seen early in the morning than among patients seen later in the day. The reasons for this are uncertain, but it’s possible that the lower rate of polyp detection later in the day is the result of provider fatigue or less complete bowel preparation. These results were published in November, 2009 issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Israeli Jewish Holocaust Survivors May Have Increased Risk of Cancer (11/12/2009)
Researchers from Israel have reported that the incidence of all cancers, and especially breast and colorectal cancers, is higher among Israeli Jews who were potentially exposed to the Holocaust compared with those who were not. The details of this study were published in the November 4, 2009 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Daily Aspirin May Decrease Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Lynch Syndrome (10/7/2009)
Researchers involved in the international multi-institutional study, CAPP2, have reported that the use of daily aspirin may reduce the incidence of colorectal adenomas and cancers in individuals with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) or Lynch Syndrome. The details of this study were presented on September 21, 2009 at Europe’s largest cancer congress, ECCO 15-ESMO 34, in Berlin.

Vectibix® plus Chemotherapy Improves Progression-free Survival After Initial Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (9/30/2009)
Researchers involved in the international randomized trial, PRIME, have reported that the addition of Vectibix® (panitumumab) to FOLFOX4 chemotherapy improves progression-free survival (PFS) compared with FOLFOX4 alone in patients with previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer. This benefit was only observed in patients whose tumors did not contain a mutation in the KRAS gene (those with wild type). These results were presented at the Joint ECCO 15 -34^th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress in Berlin, September 20-24, 2009.