#DressInBlueDay urges early detection during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Each year, the first Friday in March kicks off Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month with National Dress in Blue Day, a campaign aimed at increasing visibility, raising awareness and honoring those impacted by this highly preventable disease.

According to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, CRC is the third most common and second deadliest cancer in the U.S. yet remains one of the few cancers that is preventable with early screening and detection.

However, the American Cancer Society estimates that 152,810 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in 2024, joining the more than 1.4 million current CRC patients and survivors.

To be a part of raising awareness for CRC, honoring survivors and those patients currently impacted, take a photo wearing blue and post on social media using the hashtag #DressInBlue and tag the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. In support of National Dress in Blue Day, Healio recaps our latest news and updates in CRC including changing trends in demographics, routine screening, FDA updates and more.

Shifting trends in CRC demographics, severity prove you are ‘not too young to have cancer’

Despite a decline in the overall incidence of colorectal cancer in the U.S., recent population-based data from the American Cancer Society show an alarming shift to younger age and more advanced disease at diagnosis.

“Although there is still progress in reducing incidence and mortality overall, if you pull up the hood, it becomes apparent that there are very concerning patterns in terms of the rapid shift to a younger patient population,” Rebecca Siegel, MPH, epidemiologist and senior scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, told Healio Gastroenterology. “Those younger patients have unique needs compared to patients in their 70s, which was the more typical patient 20 to 30 years ago. Not only are we seeing younger patients, but also more advanced disease.” Read more.

Routine screening with fecal occult blood testing reduces CRC mortality by 14%

Participation in early, routine screening for colorectal cancer using fecal occult blood testing was associated with a 14% reduction in CRC mortality in a cohort of nearly 380,000 individuals in Sweden, according to data.

“There is a lack of observational studies evaluating the association of CRC mortality with routine screening programs using FOBT,” Johannes Blom, MD, PhD, of the department of clinical science and education at Karolinska Institute, and colleagues wrote in JAMA Network Open. “In 2008, the region of Stockholm-Gotland, encompassing approximately 25% of the Swedish population, initiated a CRC screening program.” Read more.

VIDEO: One in 10 FIT ‘unsatisfactory’ in screening for CRC, mainly due to patient error

In this Healio video, Rasmi Nair, MBBS, MPH, PhD, reports findings from a recent study, which showed 10% of at-home fecal immunological tests for colorectal cancer screening could not be processed, mostly due to specimen errors.

“We hope to learn more about where the blame lies,” Nair, assistant professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, told Healio. “Is it more patient-related? Did the patient not understand the instructions with regards to FIT or was it more system- or provider-related? Although our research is great at identifying the issue, we still are not able to pinpoint the exact problem.” Read more.

GI cancers contribute to 25% of global lifetime cancer risk, with highest risk for death

Researchers estimated the global lifetime risk for developing gastrointestinal cancer in 2020 was one in 12 people, while one in 16 people will die, with colorectal cancer presenting the highest risk compared with other GI cancers.

“Few studies have assessed the cumulative effect of gastrointestinal cancers, including esophageal, gastric, liver, colorectal, pancreatic and gallbladder cancer, in terms of cancer-specific incidence and mortality from a lifetime risk perspective, despite these cancers accounting for a quarter of all cancer cases and a third of cancer-related deaths worldwide,” Shaoming Wang, PhD, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, and colleagues wrote in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Read more.

FDA grants breakthrough device designation to Amadix’s blood test for colorectal cancer

The FDA has granted breakthrough device designation to Amadix’s PreveCol, a blood test for early detection of colorectal cancer, intended to screen adults aged 45 years or older without apparent symptoms, according to a company release.

Amadix noted that it is the first European company to receive recognition from the FDA for the efficacy of its blood test in the detection of precancerous lesions compared with currently available alternatives. Read more.

Colorectal cancer incidence steadily climbing among younger men vs. women

Colorectal cancer incidence has increased since 1988 among men but not women younger than 50 years, suggesting that patient sex should be factored in when determining screening age, data from an Austrian study showed.

“CRC incidence and mortality decreased in the U.S. and many European countries over the last 30 years among adults aged 55 years and older, which could be an effect of higher adherence to CRC screening programs,” Daniela Penz, MD, of the Austrian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and colleagues wrote in JAMA Network Open. “At the same time, an increase in mortality and incidence rates among younger patients was noticed.” Read more.

CRC incidence significantly higher among patients with cryptogenic pyogenic liver abscess

Patients diagnosed with cryptogenic pyogenic liver abscess had a “significantly higher incidence” of colorectal cancer up to 3 years from diagnosis compared with matched controls, highlighting the importance of CRC screening, data showed.

“Certain infectious diseases, such as Streptococcus gallolyticus bacteremia, anaerobic bacteremia and pyogenic liver abscess (PLA), are reported to have an association with the incidence of CRC,” Hiroyuki Suzuki, MD, MSCI, of Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and colleagues wrote in JAMA Network Open. “Despite preliminary data suggesting that patients who experienced PLA have a higher CRC incidence, there are no professional guidelines to recommend CRC screening for patients who are diagnosed with PLA.” Read more.

‘Adding a cup of beans’ to diet boosts gut microbiome diversity in high-risk obesity, CRC

Adding one cup of navy beans to the usual diet of individuals with obesity and a history of colorectal cancer improved gut microbiome diversity and regulated metabolites and markers related to disease, according to research in eBioMedicine.

“From a nutritional perspective, beans contain multiple dietary components that are known to stimulate the microbiome,” Carrie Daniel-MacDougall, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told Healio. “Beyond their potential as highly effective prebiotic food, there is strong and consistent evidence supporting beans as part of a healthy diet for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer, particularly colorectal cancer. However, most Americans are not excited by the idea of eating beans and they are particularly avoided by individuals with digestive issues, who might be the most likely to benefit.” Read more.

Facility fees for colonoscopy nearly 55% more at hospitals vs. ambulatory surgery centers

Facility fees for three common colonoscopy procedures were approximately 55% higher at hospitals compared with ambulatory surgery centers in the same county and with the same insurer, researchers reported in JAMA Health Forum.

“Variation in facility fees paid for similar health services across different sites of care has received attention,” Yang Wang, PhD, of the department of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote. “For example, Medicare pays more for services delivered in hospital outpatient departments than ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). This has led to recommendations and proposed legislation to equalize payments for some services.” Read more.

eAArly DETECT topline data ‘confirm, surpass’ ColoFuture for biomarker accuracy in CRC

Topline findings from the eAArly DETECT trial showed Mainz Biomed’s novel mRNA biomarkers boasted a sensitivity and specificity of 97% for detection of colorectal cancer, and an 82% sensitivity for advanced adenomas detection.

Further, results from the trial “not only confirm but even surpass the good results from [the] ColoFuture” trial, which reported a sensitivity of 94% for CRC with specificity of 97% and an 80% sensitivity for advanced adenoma sensitivity, the release noted. The company reported that the results support the addition of these biomarkers in the next generation of its ColoAlert CRC screening test. Read more.

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