Nine important updates in colorectal cancer
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Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month is observed in March.
The observance is intended to increase awareness about the prevalence of the disease, its symptoms, and the key role screening plays in preventing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States.
An estimated 148,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with the malignancy this year and about 53,200 will die of the disease, according to American Cancer Society.
In conjunction with Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, HemOnc Today and Healio present the following important updates in diagnosis and treatment.
• The burden of colorectal cancer has shifted considerably toward younger individuals over the past few decades, according to American Cancer Society’s Colorectal Cancer Statistics 2020 report. Read more.
• Individuals aged 25 years and younger with colon cancer appeared to be at higher risk for relapse and death than older adults. Read more.
• Fusobacterium nucleatum may be partially responsible for the sharp increase in colorectal cancer incidence among individuals aged younger than 45 years. Read more.
• A combination of encorafenib (Braftovi, Array BioPharma) and cetuximab (Erbitux, Eli Lilly), with or without binimetinib (Mektovi, Array BioPharma), demonstrated significant improvement in patient-reported quality-of-life assessments compared with standard-of-care chemotherapy among patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer. Read more.
• Young adults with colorectal cancer who resided in areas with the lowest incomes and high school graduation rates had a 24% increased risk for death than their counterparts in areas with the highest incomes and graduation rates. Read more.
• Maintenance chemotherapy following initial treatment appeared to be more beneficial for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer than continuing a full induction regimen until disease progression. Read more.
• The Affordable Care Act’s dependent coverage expansion provision has resulted in earlier-stage diagnosis and more timely receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy among young patients with colorectal cancer. Read more.
• Omega-3 supplementation of 1 g per day did not appear to reduce the risk for colorectal cancer precursors among the average-risk U.S. population. However, daily supplementation might benefit African Americans and those with low plasma levels of omega-3, according to researchers. Read more.
• Laparoscopic resection conferred a long-term survival advantage compared with open hepatectomy for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Read more.