Gastrointestinal Cancer News

Patients who underwent surgery for stage IV cancer experienced high rates of hospital readmissions, referrals to extended care facilities, morbidity and mortality, according to study results published in PLOS One.

Premature death rates in the United States differ by race and ethnicity, showing a decline among Hispanics, blacks and Asian/Pacific Islanders and an increase among whites and American Indian/Alaska Natives between 1999 to 2014, according to a news release issued by the NIH.

Rectal and left-sided colon cancers are not clearly delineated by location but rather are characterized by a range of distinct molecular variations, a phenomenon that has implications for developing tailored treatments in the future, according to data presented at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Young and middle-aged patients with colon cancer are two to eight times more likely to receive postoperative chemotherapy compared with older patients, according to results of a cohort study.

Various racial and ethnic disparities affect disease presentation, treatment delivery and outcomes among young patients with gastric cancer, according to data presented at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

The ability of the Affordable Care Act to provide adequate insurance coverage and access to health care for Americans with chronic medical conditions is concerning due to large remaining gaps, according to researchers in Annals of Internal Medicine.

In his editorial in this issue, Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, expresses exasperation with the field of cancer epidemiology — noting, in particular, its large number of seemingly duplicative studies and the “litany of papers reporting weak associations.”

Editor’s note: To read a response to this editorial from Amanda I. Phipps, MPH, PhD, see her commentary. To read HemOnc Today’s coverage of the research by Phipps and colleagues, click here.

Cancer mortality in the United States decreased by more than 20% from 1980 to 2014, according to a study conducted by researchers from University of Washington and published in JAMA.

Long-term use of aspirin was associated with a reduced risk for colorectal cancer, but an increased risk for gastrointestinal bleeding, highlighting the need to weigh the risks and benefits of prophylactic aspirin use, according to data presented at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.