Simple test to help diagnose bowel and pancreatic cancer could save thousands of lives

A simple online calculator could offer family GPs a powerful new tool in tackling two of the most deadly forms of cancer, say researchers. Academics from The University of Nottingham and ClinRisk Ltd have developed two new QCancer algorithms, which cross-reference symptoms and risk factors of patients to red flag those most likely to have pancreatic and bowel cancer, which could help doctors to diagnose these illnesses more quickly and potentially save thousands of lives every year. Leading the research, Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox in the University’s Division of Primary Care, said: “We hope these new tools will help GPs with the difficult task of identifying patients with suspected cancer earlier and that this in turn could help improve treatment options and outcomes for patients.” Pancreatic cancer, which affects more than 8,000 people in the UK every year, has the worst survival rate for any cancer — almost three-quarters of patients die within a year of diagnosis. — Ends —

High Blood Sugar Levels in Older Women Linked to Colorectal Cancer Newswise — November 18, 2011 ─ (BRONX, NY) ─ Elevated blood sugar levels are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The findings, observed in nearly 5,000 postmenopausal women, appear in the November 29 online edition of the British Journal of Cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. Statistics compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2007 (the most recent year for which figures are available) show that 142,672 Americans were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, including 69,917 women; the 53,219 deaths from colorectal cancer that year were divided almost equally between men and women. By the end of the 12-year period, 81 of the women had developed colorectal cancer. Comment/Share

Colorectal cancer: Jumping gene named Sleeping Beauty plays vital role in investigating cancer pathway A jumping gene with the fairy tale name 'Sleeping Beauty' has helped to unlock vital clues for researchers investigating the genetics of colorectal cancer. A new study used the Sleeping Beauty transposon system to profile the repertoire of genes that can drive colorectal cancer, identifying many more than previously thought. Around one third of these genes are mutated in human cancer, which provides strong evidence that they are driver mutations in human tumours. The collaborative project, funded principally by Cancer Research UK and the Wellcome Trust, was led by Dr David Adams from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and Dr Douglas Winton, of the Cancer Research-UK Cambridge Research Institute. "These findings, when combined with mutation data from human colon cancers, will drive forward our understanding of the processes that lead to colorectal cancer," says Dr Adams, senior author from the Sanger Institute.

Colorectal cancer Most colorectal cancer occurs due to lifestyle and increasing age with only a minority of cases associated with underlying genetic disorders. It typically starts in the lining of the bowel and if left untreated, can grow into the muscle layers underneath, and then through the bowel wall. Screening is effective at decreasing the chance of dying from colorectal cancer and is recommended starting at the age of 50 and continuing until a person is 75 years old. Localized bowel cancer is usually diagnosed through sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. Cancers that are confined within the wall of the colon are often curable with surgery while cancer that has spread widely around the body is usually not curable and management then focuses on extending the person's life via chemotherapy and improving quality of life. Signs and symptoms[edit] Location and appearance of two example colorectal tumors Cause[edit] Inflammatory bowel disease[edit] Genetics[edit] Pathogenesis[edit] Field defects[edit] Diagnosis[edit]

Steps being taken towards achieving an early diagnosis of cancer of the large intestine Itxaro Perez, a biochemist at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), has contributed in such a way that, in the long term, the early diagnosis of cancer of the large intestine could be feasible. Specifically, she has focused on certain enzymes known as peptidases and their activity (working rate): she has studied how their activity changes by comparing the tissue encountered at different stages of the disease. If these fluctuations could be correctly distinguished, they would be of use in the future when it comes to knowing how to go about detecting this type of cancer early. The line of research has only just begun, but it could provide many keys. The researcher has defended these initial results in a thesis entitled Peptidasen aktibitatearen aldaketak heste lodiko neoplasietan (Changes in the activity of peptidases in the neoplasms of the large intestine). Blood samples, her greatest contribution Plasma has already been used with the same aim in other types of cancer.