BACKGROUND Although the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial of estrogen plus progestin in postmenopausal women identified more overall health risks than benefits among women in the hormone group, the use of estrogen plus progestin was associated with a significant decrease in the risk of colorectal cancer. We analyzed features of the colorectal cancers that developed and their relation to the...

BACKGROUND KRAS mutations represent key alterations in colorectal cancer development and lead to constitutive EGFR signaling. Since EGFR inhibition represents a therapeutic strategy in advanced colorectal cancer, KRAS mutation analysis has quickly been introduced as a treatment-predictive test. METHODS We used a real-time PCR based method to determine KRAS mutations in 136 colorectal cancers ...

Although tobacco has been clearly implicated as a cause of a number of cancers, earlier studies had not generally found cigarette smokers to be at higher risk for cancers of the large bowel. Unlike the earlier studies, more recent studies have tended to find cigarette smokers to be at higher risk of colorectal cancer. In addition, cigarette smoking has been consistently associated with a higher...

BACKGROUND National institute of clinical excellence (NICE) recommends that a median of 12 lymph nodes be examined in patients operated on with curative intent- to- treat colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients with lymph node harvest less than this may be considered under staged and may receive adjuvant chemotherapy. The aim of our study was to ascertain median number of lymph nodes examined in earl...

Overall, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women, meaning that it is one of the more widely recognized preventable cancers. Instances of colorectal malignancies though are overwhelmingly attributable to adenocarcinoma. Colorectal cancers with components of squamous cell carcinoma represent a statistical anomaly. Here, we present the case of a 50-year-...

abstract:   introduction: colorectal cancer (crc) is one of the most common cancers in the world. during the past decades, survival of colorectal cancer patients has improved worldwide, however, it is not clear what factors have contributed to this development. this study was designed to evaluate the prognostic impact of a wide spectrum of pathologic parameters on survival rate in patients with...

BACKGROUND Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is associated with high risks for colorectal and endometrial cancer, young age at onset and an increased risk of multiple primary tumours. Colorectal cancer in HNPCC is characterised by poor tumour differentiation, an expanding growth pattern, and a pronounced lymphocytic reaction with tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes. AIMS AND METH...

The cardinal features of colorectal cancer in patients with the MUTYH-associated polyposis syndrome, featured in this editorial, are of very recent discovery and remain under review as new clinical phenotypes for these patients are still being identified. Importantly, its phenotype results from homozygosity of the MUTYH gene and, therefore, is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. In a m...

Adenomas are the precursors of most colorectal cancers. Hyperplastic polyps have been linked to the subset of colorectal cancers showing DNA microsatellite instability, but little is known of their underlying genetic etiology. Using a strategy that isolates differentially methylated sequences from hyperplastic polyps and normal mucosa, we identified a 370-bp sequence containing the 5' untransla...

BACKGROUND Virtual colonoscopy is a potentially powerful tool for non-invasive colorectal evaluation. In vitro studies have established its accuracy in simulated polyp detection but little data exist regarding its use in clinical practice. AIMS To evaluate the ability of virtual colonoscopy to detect colorectal cancers and polyps in patients with endoscopically proven colorectal neoplasms and...