Specialists in Colon Cancer, Irritable Bowel, Inflammatory Bowel, Acid Reflux, Liver Disease, Crohns Disease and Hepatitis C Virus

Study: Hepatitis C May Kill More Americans Than HIV

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:26:20 +0000

The AP (2/21, Neergaard) reports, “Deaths from liver-destroying hepatitis C are on the rise, and new data shows baby boomers especially should take heed — they are most at risk.”

“Deaths attributed to hepatitis in the US rose during the past decade to surpass those from HIV,” Bloomberg News (2/21, Flinn) reports. “Researchers studied 22 million death records from 1999 to 2007, finding 15,000 died from hepatitis C alone, compared with 13,000 from HIV.” They found that “as many as 1.4 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B…and 3.2 million have hepatitis C, with two-thirds born from 1946 to 1964,” according to the study published in the Feb. 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

MedPage Today (2/21, Smith) reports that “one-time screening and then treating people based on birth cohort – specifically those born from 1945 through 1965 – would be cost-effective,” argues a companion study in the same journal. Analysis revealed that “birth-cohort screening identified an extra 808,580 cases of chronic infection, compared with the status quo, at a cost of $2,874 per case.” In other words, “depending on the form of subsequent treatment, the screening would prevent between 82,300 and 121,000 deaths, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio per quality-adjusted life year gained ranged from $15,700 to $35,700,” the study calculated.

According to HealthDay (2/21, Reinberg), “‘These data underscore the urgent need to address the health threat posed by chronic hepatitis B and C in the United States,’ said investigator Dr. Scott Holmberg, chief of the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch in CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis.”

High-Speed DNA Tests May Be Used To Benefit Patients With Lung, Colon Cancer

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:46:39 +0000

Bloomberg News (2/13, Langreth) reports, “More than half of lung and colon cancer patients may benefit from high-speed tests that detect DNA flaws doctors can target with existing medicines,” according to a study published in Nature Medicine. Investigators “used a gene test…to sequence 145 cancer-associated genes in 40 colon tumor samples and 24 lung tumors.” The researchers “found that 53 percent of colon tumors and 71 percent of lung tumors had mutations that may be attacked with cancer medicines on the market or in human trials.”

Colon Cancer Risk Linked To Alcohol Use And Family History Of Colorectal Cancer

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:16:24 +0000

HealthDay (2/4, Preidt) reported that individuals “who consume a few alcoholic drinks a day and have a family history of colorectal cancer are at increased risk for developing colon cancer,” according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Investigators looked at “data from more than 87,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and 47,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and found that 1,801 cases of colon cancer were diagnosed among the participants from 1980 onward.” The researchers found that those “with a family history of colorectal cancer who drank an average of 30 or more grams of alcohol per day (about 2.5 typical drinks in the United States) were at increased risk for colon cancer,” but “no significant association was found between alcohol consumption and colon cancer” among individuals with no “family history of colorectal cancer.”

Food Companies Seeking “Perfect Wash” For Salad Greens

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:02:23 +0000

The Los Angeles Times /California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting (1/30, Schoch) reports that “food companies headquartered in the Salinas Valley…are rushing to find the ‘perfect wash’” for salad greens. One product, T-128, “a new industrial salad wash additive,” helps to “reduce the risk of bacteria spreading from leaf to leaf during washing, says Jim Brennan, president of New Leaf Food Safety Solutions, the food safety subsidiary of industry giant Taylor Fresh Foods.” Meanwhile, “other researchers are looking at chlorine alternatives, gaseous washes, ultrasound, radiation, even cold plasma – any means to strip that last germ from a leaf of baby spinach or endive or the popular spring mix.”

Infinity Pulls Plug On Pancreatic Cancer Drug Trial

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:01:36 +0000

Reuters (1/27, Basu) reported Infinity Pharmaceuticals has stopped a mid-stage trial of an experimental pancreatic cancer medicine known as saridegib because a preliminary analysis showed that patients receiving placebo plus an anti-cancer chemotherapy treatment survived longer than those on saridegib and chemotherapy. The trial included some 122 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who did not receive prior treatment. Infinity is also developing a non-small cell lung cancer drug, known as retaspimycin hydrochloride, which is currently in mid-stage trial

Chocolate Consumption May Stave Off Bowel Cancer

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:59:16 +0000

The UK’s Daily Mail (1/26, Whitelocks) reports, “Eating chocolate could stave off bowel cancer, say scientists.” Research on rats “found having daily doses of cocoa reduced the risk of developing the disease.” According to the Daily Mail, “It is believed that the study, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, is the first to suggest that cocoa could help prevent bowel cancer.”

Study Links GI Tract Bleeding With Kidney Failure

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:42:48 +0000

HealthDay (1/20, Preidt) reports that a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology found that “many kidney failure patients experience bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, a problem that can cause serious health problems and even early death.” The researchers argued “that more needs to be done to prevent and treat upper GI bleeding…in kidney failure patients.”

Regular Beer, Some Low-Gluten Beers May Cause Problems For Celiac Patients

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:30:28 +0000

HealthDay (12/29, Preidt) reports that according to a study published in the Journal of Proteome Research, “regular beer and even some brands of beer labeled ‘low-gluten’ contain high levels of gluten and could cause problems for people with celiac disease.” After developing and conducting tests on 60 commercial beers to detect hordein, a form of gluten, researchers “found that many of the regular brands contained significant levels of hordein,” and two brands of beer “labeled ‘gluten-free’ actually had about as much hordein as regular beer.”

CDC Recommends Hepatitis B Vaccine For Adults With Diabetes

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:32:34 +0000

HealthDay (12/23, Preidt) reports, “Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for all unvaccinated adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes aged 19 to 59,” according to new guidelines issued by the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and published in the Dec. 23 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The guidelines advise that “vaccination should be done as soon as possible after adults in this age group are diagnosed with diabetes.”
“Citing more limited data for older diabetics, committee members left the decision about whether to vaccinate diabetic adults 60 and older to the treating clinician,” MedPage Today (12/23, Neale) reports. “The decision should be based on the risk of becoming infected with HBV — including a consideration of the need for assisted blood glucose monitoring in long-term-care facilities — and the likelihood of an adequate immune response to vaccination, which decreases with age.” The recommendations say, however, that “no vaccination is necessary in patients who have been fully immunized at any point in the past.”

GERD Prevalence Up As Obesity Epidemic Spreads

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:53:28 +0000

HealthDay (12/22, Reinberg) reports, “As the obesity epidemic spreads around the world more people are suffering from acid reflux, likely increasing the number of those who will develop esophageal cancer,” according to a study published online Dec. 21 in the journal Gut. After examining “data on almost 30,000 people who took part in the Norwegian Nord-Trondelag Health Study from 1995 to 2009,” researchers found that “the prevalence of those with” gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) “symptoms increased 30 percent and the number of those with severe symptoms increased 24 percent” during that time period.
Medscape (12/22, Fox) points out, “‘Age was an important risk factor for the incidence of GERD among women,’ the researchers” wrote, “but for men the incidence was stable irrespective of age,” they added.