Health Update

When the news broke out that a past president of the country is suffering from colon cancer, the disease was placed in the forefront of national issues. Suddenly, people became curious about colon cancer and started asking questions about the causes, signs, symptoms and ways to treat the dreadful disease.

For those who are not yet aware, colon cancer is a leading cause of death. It begins in the cells that line the colon. Cancer cells may spread or metastasize through the blood or lymphatic system or directly grow into tissues adjacent to the original cancer.

The National Cancer Institute estimates that about half of all colon cancer patients will develop liver metastases found either at first diagnosis or recurrence after treatment.

According to the World Health Organization, about one million new cases of colon cancer are diagnosed worldwide. In the Philippines, it is the third most common cancer in men or women.

The diagnosis of colon cancer may sound like a death sentence but the disease can actually be treated, especially when it is caught at the early stages. Depending on what stage of the disease a patient is diagnosed at, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery could be done.

For chemotherapy, oxaliplatin, manufactured by sanofi aventis, a world leader in oncology, seems to be the drug of choice among medical oncologists (MOs) worldwide. A survey was conducted among MOs on what chemotherapy they wish to receive if they themselves had early stage colon cancer. Results of the survey, which was presented during the ASCO-GI congress held in Florida recently, showed that oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy was the more common choice of MOs in the described situations than off-study chemo/biologic therapy.

The last 10 years saw dramatic changes in the treatment of colon cancer with the use of oxaliplatin. The MOSAIC study, which was presented in the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, was the latest landmark trial to offer evidence of clinical benefits with the use of oxaliplatin for the treatment of metastatic colorectal.

MOSAIC showed that an oxaliplatin injection-based chemotherapy regimen, reduces the risk of relapse by 20 percent (73.3 percent disease free survival) and reduces the risk of death by 20 percent in patients with stage III colon cancer (86.8 percent overall survival).

Another study, the N9741 trial, showed that patients with advanced colorectal cancer who received the oxaliplatin injection-based chemotherapy regimen lived months longer than those who received a standard therapy. They also had a longer time before their tumors progressed, a better response rate, and fewer severe side effects.

There are a lot of studies currently being conducted to determine new ways of treating the disease. It is hoped that the results of these studies will provide new treatment modalities which will help oncologists and patients in their battle against colon cancer.

Source: Philippine Star