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Researchers may have identified the bacterial toxin colibactin as a potential factor contributing to the concerning rise in early-onset colorectal cancer, according to a novel study published by Díaz-Gay et al in Nature. The findings demonstrated a substantial enrichment of colibactin-related...
Researchers have uncovered that eating walnuts may improve systemic inflammation and reduce the risk for colorectal cancer, according to a recent study published by Moussa et al in Cancer Prevention Research. Background Ellagitannins—plant-derived polyphenol compounds found in walnuts—have been...
The incidence rates of colorectal and pancreatic adenocarcinomas have risen the most among young adults over the past 2 decades, suggesting the need for heightened awareness among clinicians for these diseases in this patient population, according to a report published by Bussetty et al in JAMA...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved bevacizumab-nwgd (Jobevne), a biosimilar to bevacizumab (Avastin), for intravenous use. Bevacizumab-nwgd is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody and a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor that binds with VEGF and blocks...
In a Spanish study (COLONPREV) reported in The Lancet, Castells et al found that invitation to fecal immunochemical test (FIT) vs colonoscopy screening for colorectal cancer was associated with noninferiority in colorectal cancer mortality. Study Details In the multicenter study, eligible...
On April 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) with the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy) for adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch...
In a U.S. population–based cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Bari et al identified patterns of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) use and survival outcomes among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer seen in routine clinical practice. The investigators stated: “…ICIs have been...
Many patients who are eligible for lung cancer screening do not receive it, but do receive preventative screenings for other cancer types, according to the results of a new study published by Potter et al in JAMA. Background Although lung cancer screening is recommended for certain individuals...
An increasing proportion of the U.S. public may be aware of the link between consuming alcohol and the elevated risk of later developing cancer, according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC). Background On January 3, 2025, Vivek...
Chemotherapy followed by local excision may be effective in patients with node-negative low rectal adenocarcinoma, according to new findings presented by Buettner et al at the 2025 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Annual Meeting. Background The current standard of care among most patients with...
Two recent studies have elucidated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on colorectal cancer screenings and diagnostic colonoscopies in Central Indiana. The findings—reported by Kumar et al in PLOS One and Richter et al in Preventive Medicine Reports—contribute to the compendium of knowledge on...
Investigators found that individuals who engaged in light- and moderate-to-vigorous–intensity physical activity daily had a lower risk of developing cancer compared with those who were more sedentary, according to a recent study published by Shreves et al in the British Journal of Sports Medicine....
In a Scottish study (TEMPO) reported in The Lancet, Robb et al found that a behavioral intervention adding a deadline for fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) return in the invitation letter to FIT colorectal cancer screening resulted in superior uptake of testing. Study Details In the trial, 40,000...
The risk of death from cardiovascular causes may be higher among patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer compared with the general population, according to new findings presented by Ayaz et al at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Scientific Session 2025. Background Cardiovascular...
The 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium once again delivered a slate of high-impact studies spanning esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular, pancreatic, biliary tract, and colorectal malignancies. Experts in the field offered fresh perspectives on evolving standards of care, and investigators ...
The use of a circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) liquid biopsy to guide colorectal cancer treatment in the adjuvant setting may not compromise outcomes despite allowing many patients to avoid chemotherapy, according to a recent study published by Tie et al in Nature Medicine. Background A liquid biopsy...
A study evaluating the genetic landscape of candidate primary resistance alterations relevant to KRAS targeting in KRAS G12C–mutant colorectal cancers and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) has found that putative resistance alterations are prevalent in these cancers. The finding may explain...
Updated consensus recommendations from the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer (MSTFCRC) address optimizing the quality of bowel preparation for colonoscopy. The document, published today by Jacobson et al, presents clinical strategies to improve bowel preparation as they apply...
Researchers have developed and validated a novel prediction model that may be capable of estimating the risk of colorectal cancer and advanced precancerous polyps in patients younger than 45 years, according to a recent study published by Wehbe et al in Digestive Diseases and Sciences. Background...
Investigators have found that the risk of colorectal cancer may vary among steatotic liver disease subgroups and could be higher in patients with alcoholic liver disease, according to a recent study published by Kimura et al in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Background Lifestyle-related...
Physical activity may help colorectal cancer survivors achieve long-term survival rates comparable to those of individuals in the general population, according to a recent study published by Brown et al in Cancer. Background Patients with colorectal cancer often face higher rates of premature...
Investigators assessed whether adding tumor deposit status to colorectal cancer staging may enhance prognostication, according to a recent study published by Sassun et al in JAMA Surgery. Background In patients undergoing surgical treatment of colorectal cancer, tumor deposits are defined as...
Researchers may have uncovered a major factor contributing to treatment resistance in patients with colorectal cancer, according to a recent study published by Mzoughi et al in Nature Genetics. Background Colorectal cancer is one of the deadliest cancer types across the world, with treatment...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Taieb et al, a combined analysis of two phase III adjuvant trials (IDEA-France and IDEA-Greece) in stage III colon cancer showed that the presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after surgery was prognostic for poorer outcomes and that...
Long-term yogurt intake may protect against the development of colorectal cancer through changes in the gut microbiome, according to a recent study published by Ugai et al in Gut Microbes. Background Yogurt—which contains live strains of bacteria—is thought to protect against many types of...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stintzing et al found that baseline liquid biopsies identified RAS and BRAF mutations in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer considered RAS wild-type on the basis of tissue analyses. Study Details The study included patients from...
The BRAF inhibitor encorafenib plus the monoclonal antibody cetuximab combined with mFOLFOX (modified folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) significantly improved overall response in BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic colorectal cancer, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal ...
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. This year, it’s expected that more than 53,000 individuals will die of the disease.1 Although screening for colorectal cancer through colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy is effective in detecting the...
The BRAF inhibitor encorafenib plus the monoclonal antibody cetuximab combined with mFOLFOX (modified folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) significantly improved overall response in BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic colorectal cancer, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal ...
An immunotherapy combination for advanced, highly mutated colorectal cancer has significantly delayed disease progression vs single-agent therapy, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.1 The phase III CheckMate 8HW trial compared the PD-1 inhibitor...
Investigators may have uncovered notable pharmacokinetic differences between male and female patients in at least 14 anticancer drugs, according to a recent study published by Delahousse et al in ESMO Open. Background Many cancer drugs have a narrow therapeutic window. As a result, slight...
Investigators have found that although fewer patients may be diagnosed with and dying from cancer in Appalachia, cancer incidence and mortality rates remain substantially higher compared with elsewhere in the United States, according to a recent study published by Burus et al in the Journal of the...
The results from the phase III FIRE-4 randomized clinical trial show that liquid biopsy accurately identified patients with RAS/BRAF V600E wild type–mutated metastatic colorectal cancer. The findings confirm the high clinical relevance of liquid biopsy performed at baseline before the start of...
In an interim analysis of a phase III noninferiority trial (COLLISION) reported in The Lancet Oncology, van der Lei et al found that thermal ablation was noninferior to surgical resection in terms of overall survival in patients with small resectable colorectal liver metastases. Study Details In...
The randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled ALASCCA Trial screened 3,508 patients across 33 hospitals in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway for eligibility. They either had stage II or III colon cancer or stage I, II, or III rectal cancer. Ultimately, 626 patients continued on with the trial, including 419 with colon cancer, and 207 with rectal cancer. Anna Martling, MD, PhD, of Karolinska Institutet, and colleagues evaluated the impact of low-dose aspirin on recurrence in this patient population, especially those with PI3K pathway alterations (Abstract LBA125).
Cathy Eng, MD, of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, reported on findings from the FRESCO-2 study, focusing on overall survival with fruquintinib vs placebo after adjusting for subsequent anticancer therapy in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (Abstract 171). Abstract 171, a poster, was presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium by Sara Lonardi, MD, of Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS in Padova, Italy; Dr. Eng is the study's senior author.
First-line treatment with the targeted therapies encorafenib and cetuximab plus a modified leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX6) chemotherapy regimen may be effective in patients with BRAF V600E–mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, according to recent findings presented by Kopetz et ...
The open-label, global, randomized phase III BREAKWATER study was an analysis of first-line encorafenib plus cetuximab plus chemotherapy in patients with BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic colorectal cancer. Here, Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, FACP, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, reports the primary analysis of objective response rate and the first interim analysis of overall survival (Abstract 16).
According to one of the first biomarker-driven randomized study in people with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer, taking 160 mg of aspirin daily after treatment ends may reduce the risk of cancer recurrence in patients with cancers that harbor a PI3K mutation. These mutations are common to many types ...
Previous research has shown that nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin and COX-2 inhibitors, may reduce the risk of developing colon cancer. A recent CALGB/SWOG study revealed that adding celecoxib to FOLFOX chemotherapy improved disease-free survival in patients with...
Thierry André, MD, of Hôpital Saint-Antoine, presented first results from the ongoing phase III CheckMate 8HW trial comparing nivolumab plus ipilimumab vs nivolumab monotherapy for microsatellite instability–high/mismatch repair–deficient metastatic colorectal cancer (Abstract LBA143).
Aasma Shaukat, MD, MPH, of NYU Langone, presented results from the PREEMPT CRC study, which evaluated the clinical performance of an investigational blood-based screening test for detecting molecular signals of advanced colorectal neoplasia in an average-risk population (Abstract 18).
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. This year, it’s expected that more than 53,000 individuals will die of the disease. Although screening for the cancer through colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy is effective in detecting the disease, nearly...
A study evaluating ChatGPT’s ability to accurately respond to patient inquiries regarding colon cancer by comparing its responses with assessments from expert clinical oncologists found that questions about symptoms, prevention, and screening for the cancer were highly accurate. However, responses...
On January 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib (Lumakras) with the monoclonal antibody panitumumab (Vectibix) for adult patients with KRAS G12C–mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, as determined by an FDA-approved test, who have received prior ...
In a phase II trial (S1613) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Raghav et al found no difference in progression-free survival overall with trastuzumab/pertuzumab vs cetuximab/irinotecan in the second- or third-line treatment of RAS/BRAF wild-type HER2-positive metastatic colorectal...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Sung et al, analysis of international population-based cancer registry data indicate an increase in incidence of colorectal cancer among younger persons (age < 50 years) in a majority of countries and territories examined. Study Details Colorectal cancer...
On December 20, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to encorafenib (Braftovi) in combination with cetuximab and modified fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX6) for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer with a BRAF V600E mutation, as detected...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Knudsen et al found evidence supporting the consideration of extending the rescreening intervals after a negative colonoscopy screening result beyond the currently recommended 10 years, particularly among individuals with a low-risk profile. Study Details The...
In an Italian phase II trial (IMPROVE) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Avallone et al found that intermittent panitumumab and FOLFIRI (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan) was associated with promising progression-free survival as first-line treatment in patients with RAS/BRAF...