Posts Tagged "Colorectal cancer"

NAIDS 2Regularly taking low-dose aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may lower long-term risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), new research suggests. The study was published online August 25 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

John Baron, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, and colleagues reviewed data from several Danish cancer databases to gather the health histories of 10,280 CRC patients diagnosed between 1994–2011. Patients were between the ages of 30–85. Medical records were evaluated for aspirin and non-aspirin NSAID consumption patterns.

A comparison of cancer patients with 102,800 cancer-free individuals revealed that regular, long-term use of low-NAIDSdose aspirin and NSAIDs seemed to confer long-term protection against CRC. The biggest benefit was linked to agents with high cyclooxygenase-2 selectivity. Taking low-dose (75–150mg) aspirin for five years or more was associated with a 27% risk reduction in both men and women. And taking NSAIDs such as ibuprofen for that long was linked to a 30–45% drop in CRC risk.

Baron emphasized that the drugs were taken continuously for years before any cancer-preventive benefits were realized. “For aspirin, you would have to take it fairly consistently, meaning at least every other day, for at least five to 10 years for the protective effect to even begin to appear,” he told HealthDay.

Source: MPR

The Center’s Executive Physical includes Colon and Rectal Cancer screening and tumor marker tracking.

mammogramFor 2013, screening for these types of cancers either fell behind previous rates or showed no improvement.

Among adults in the age groups recommended for screening, about 1 in 5 women reported not being up-to-date with cervical cancer screening, about 1 in 4 women reported not being up-to-date with breast cancerpap smear screening, and about 2 in 5 adults reported not being up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening.

The report found that colorectal cancer testing was essentially unchanged in 2013 compared with 2010. Pap test use in women age 21-65 years was lower than 2000, and the number of mammography screenings was stagnant, showing very little change from previous years.

colon cancerResearchers reviewed data from the National Health Interview Survey 2013, which is used to monitor progress toward Healthy People 2020 goals for cancer screening based on the most recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines.

The screening data for 2013 show that 58.2 percent of adults age 50-75 years reported being screened for colorectal cancer; 72.6 percent of women age 50-74 had a mammogram; and 80.7 percent of women age 21-65 had a Pap test. All of these percentages are below the Healthy People 2020 targets.

Source: CDC

The Presidential Healthcare Center’s Executive Physicals include cancer screening and tumor marker tracking.

Colon 5Both the incidence and mortality rates of Colon and Rectal Cancers have been decreasing in the United States, a trend that is largely attributed to the widespread screening of persons 50 years and older.

However, researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have highlighted a concerning trend: incidence rates are actually rising in young adults.

The most pronounced increase, which was observed in patients between 20 and 34 years old, was in the incidence of colon and rectal cancer at all stages (localized, regional, and distant).Colon 2

Authors of a recent study analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data for 393,241 patients with CRC between 1975 and 2010 and evaluated the age at diagnosis in 15-year intervals, beginning at age 20 years.

The overall age-adjusted incidence rates decreased by 0.92% during the study period.

Colon 4However, although there has been a steady decrease in incidence among persons 50 years and older, the opposite is true for those in younger age groups, according to the authors, led by principal investigator George J. Chang, MD, associate professor, Departments of Surgical Oncology and Health Services Research at MD Anderson.

Source: The JAMA Network

 

 

*The Center’s Executive Physical includes Colon and Rectal Cancer screening and tumor marker tracking.

 

Pancreas

Pancreas

By 2030, the top cancer killers in the United States will be lung, pancreas and liver, according to a new report published Monday in the American Association for Cancer Research’s journal.

Lung cancer is already the top killer overall, but pancreatic and liver cancer will surpass the cancers currently considered the second and third leading causes of death, researchers say. Right now, second most dangerous is breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men; and third is colorectal cancer for both men and women.

Researchers looked at trends in cancer incidence and death rates between 2006 and 2010, and used that data — combined with expected U.S. demographic changes — to predict numbers for 2030.

Overall, the cancer-related death rate has been decreasing, researchers say, as a result of improved screening and treatment options. Yet while deaths from breast, prostate and colon cancers are projected to drop, deaths caused by liver, pancreatic, bladder and leukemia cancers are expected to increase.

In fact, liver and pancreatic cancers will surpass breast and prostate to become the second and third-leading causes of cancer-related deaths, the researchers say.

“We’ve been able to turn the tide in other cancers, with an investment in (research),” said lead author Lynn Matrisian, vice president of scientific and medical affairs at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which funded the study. “We’re hoping that with increased effort … we will be able to impact and change those projections.”

The rate of pancreatic cancer has been slowly increasing for the past 15 years, says Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. Some of that rise can be attributed to the prevalence of obesity and diabetes.

“Many Americans are not aware that the combination of obesity, high-caloric intake and lack of physical activity is the second-leading cause of cancer in the U.S.,” Brawley said. “It is linked to at least 12 types of cancer, of which these are two. This is an American problem … the rise in pancreatic cancer is not as severe as in Europe where obesity is less of an issue.”

Overall, the number of cancer cases is expected to increase over the next 16 years, due to the rapidly aging population. In 2010, the United States had about 1.5 million cases of cancer; in 2030, researchers expect that number to reach 2.1 million.

“We’re living much longer in the United States, so the number of people 65 age and older will be much greater,” Matrisian said. “And that’s, of course, one of the biggest risk factors for cancer: Age.”

Lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancers are currently the most common in the United States. Known as the “big four,” these cancers have the highest incidence rates and receive the most research funding from the National Cancer Institute.

This is unlikely to change by 2030, the researchers say, except for colorectal cancer, which is expected to be surpassed by thyroid, melanoma and uterine cancers in total number of cases.

“The decrease in colorectal cancer, falling from the top four incidence and top two in deaths, seems to be primarily the result of advances in colorectal cancer screening,” the report authors write.

The dramatic increase in thyroid cases is not a new epidemic, they say, but simply an increase in the number of cases being diagnosed. And while thyroid cancer has a 98% five-year survival rate, only 6% of pancreatic cancer patients are alive five years after diagnosis.

The pancreas is difficult to scan with current imaging technologies, Matrisian says, because of its location in the body. And pancreatic tumors are often surrounded by dense tissue that render drugs useless. Surgery is the only treatment known to cure pancreatic cancer, but less than 20% of cases are operable, the report says.

“If we want to change the death rate for these diseases, it is necessary to increase the investment in understanding them and identifying early detection strategies,” the report says.

Source: CNN

 

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Your risk of colorectal cancer increases as you age; more than 90% of all cases occur in individuals who are 50 and older. Colorectal cancer screening helps find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer.

It’s important to get tested according to national guidelines, which include colonoscopies and occult blood tests. At Presidential Healthcare Center, we track your CEA levels as part of our executive physical program; this is a cancer marker that can help us catch the disease in its earliest stages. Celebrate this March by scheduling your personalized executive physical!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cancer is the second most common cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease. It accounts for nearly one of every four deaths in the U.S. each year. At the Presidential Healthcare Center, we offer many different types of cancer screenings–customized to your lifestyle and risk factors–in order to catch diseases in their earliest stages.

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, other than skin cancer. Mammography can detect breast cancer at an early stage when treatment may be more effective and a cure is more likely.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. More than 130,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Regular colorectal screening can prevent colorectal cancer. Screening can detect precancerous polyps, which can be removed before they have the chance to turn into cancer. There are many types of screening tests available, although they have different testing frequencies.

An estimated 12,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year. When detected early, however, cervical cancer is preventable. Cervical cancer can be found early by having regular Pap tests. A Pap test can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops; it can also find cervical cancer early, in its most treatable stage.

At PHC, our preventive executive physicals provide the most extensive cancer screening available to ensure that our patients catch any abnormalities early, before they become major health issues. Each patient receives a custom-tailored program designed specifically for the individual’s needs, concerns, and risk factors, including family history. Celebrate Cancer Prevention Month by scheduling a preventive executive physical for yourself and your loved ones!

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