In a nutshell The authors examined whether miR-21 levels are linked to patient survival rates. They also examined whether the levels of miR-21 could predict if patients will benefit from adjuvant therapy. Some background Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality (death from cancer). Adjuvant...
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Being a Spoonie You may not know it but if you are a patient with a chronic illness, you may be a spoonie. In 2010 Christine Miserandino wrote a post called The Spoon Theory. In the post, Christine describes explaining to her best friend what it really feels like to live with Lupus. She asks her friend to hold 12 spoons and tells her that the spoons are...
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In a nutshell The authors aimed to evaluate if survival benefits associated with aspirin are reliant on tumor expression of the HLA class I antigen (a protein involved in regulation of the immune system). Some background Previous studies have shown that aspirin use after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer improves colorectal...
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In a nutshell The authors aimed to evaluate the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) or cetuximab (Erbitux) to chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer. Some background Previously, the therapeutic options for patients who failed chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer have been limited. However, during the last few years, new targeted...
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In a nutshell This study examined the effect of hepatic-artery infusion combined with systemic chemotherapy on patients with inoperable colorectal liver metastases. Some background Any cancer involving the colon or rectum is called colorectal cancer. Frequently, this cancer spreads to the liver (colorectal liver metastasis), and often in...
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In a nutshell This study focused on the effectiveness of bevacizumab (Avastin) in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Some background Colorectal cancer is any cancer that involves the colon, rectum, or both. It has a tendency to spread to other organs, frequently the liver. This phenomenon is called metastatic colorectal cancer....
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors aimed to evaluate the association between age and survival outlook after surgery in colorectal cancer. Some background Generally, colorectal cancer is thought to affect mostly older people, with more than 90% of patients being diagnosed after age 55 years. However, despite there being a steady decline of colorectal cancer...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors evaluated the association between testosterone levels and prognosis after cancer diagnosis in men and women. Some background Testosterone is the most important androgen (male sex hormone) in humans and affects the development of many different tissues and organs. It appears that testosterone stimulates growth of...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors evaluated the use of sorafenib and irinotecan-based combination chemotherapy in patients with KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer who had progressive disease despite prior treatment. Some background KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer is a cancer that has a mutated KRAS gene (an important gene...
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In a nutshell The authors evaluated the association between cyclin D1 level, overall survival and disease-free survival in colorectal cancer patients. Some background In recent years, much attention has been focused on the involvement of cyclin D1 in tumor development and progression. Cyclin D1 is a protein that regulates the cell cycle, or the...
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In a nutshell The authors aimed to identify genetic indicators of severe peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) resulting from oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Some background Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin)-based chemotherapy is widely used as adjuvant (used in addition to initial treatment) therapy for stage III and selected high-risk stage II...
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In a nutshell The authors evaluated the use of cetuximab (Erbitux) as a first-line treatment in those with wild-type (normal) KRAS metastatic colorectal cancer. Some background Approximately 35% of colorectal cancer patients have metastatic disease (spread of the cancer) at diagnosis and 30-50% of patients with stages II – III...
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