Colorectal Cancer

An organized outreach program that mailed fecal immunochemical tests directly to patients helped improved colorectal cancer screening rates over multiple years, according to research from Digestive Disease Week.

Circulating tumor DNA has shown great promise as a blood-based, prognostic biomarker for patients with colon cancer, with detectable levels after resection considered an indicator of elevated risk for recurrence.

A novel, blood-based assay improved the detection of advanced and non-advanced adenoma by analyzing cell-free DNA and circulating gastrointestinal epithelial cells, according to research from Digestive Disease Week.

COM701, a novel first-in-class immune checkpoint inhibitor, demonstrated antitumor activity alone and in combination with nivolumab among patients with advanced solid tumors, according to results of a phase 1 study presented at the virtual American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting.

Colorectal cancer could have been diagnosed earlier or possibly prevented among adults aged 40 to 49 years had these individuals undergone screening in accordance with family history-based guidelines, according to results of a retrospective analysis published in Cancer.

A smartphone application helped reinforce patient education in the days preceding colonoscopy, resulting in better bowel cleanliness and adenoma detection, according to research published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Cetuximab plus chemotherapy resulted in shorter PFS and OS compared with chemotherapy alone among patients with resectable KRAS exon 2 wild-type colorectal liver metastases, according to results of the randomized phase 3 New EPOC study published in Lancet Oncology.

Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month is observed in March.

Individuals aged 25 years and younger with colon cancer appeared to be at higher risk for relapse and death than their older adults, according to data published in Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients’ previously scheduled health screenings such as cancer screenings and colonoscopies are now being canceled or postponed until further notice. Many centers are prioritizing patients’ procedures as urgent or not.