Latest Gastrointestinal cancer Stories

Innovation for healthy outcomes presented at DDW® 2013 The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW). The preparation process, which begins days in advance of the procedure, includes dietary restrictions and requires specific bowel preparation medication to be taken at strict intervals. The better the preparation, the easier it is for doctors to see cancer and...

Colonoscopy withdrawal time, polyp removal technique also examined at DDW® 2013 A ground-breaking advance in colonoscopy technology signals the future of colorectal care, according to research presented today at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW). Additional research focuses on optimizing the minimal withdrawal time for colonoscopies and exploring safer methods for removing polyps. During colonoscopy, doctors use a device called a colonoscope to examine the colon. This screening test for...

Partnership between Bogart Estate and Esophageal Cancer Action Network (ECAN) raises awareness about link between Heartburn and Cancer at Film Festival in Key Largo, May 2 - 5 (PRWEB) May 03, 2013 Maybe someone should look at you, kid. That’s the message of the new movie trailer premiering at the First Annual Humphrey Bogart Film Festival this weekend in Key Largo, Florida. In the trailer shown before every film that is screened at the festival, Stephen Bogart, the only son of...

Individuals who have experienced a major bleed from their stomach or esophagus (known as an upper gastrointestinal bleed) may be more likely to die from other causes, particularly malignant tumors and cardiovascular disease, than those without an upper gastrointestinal bleed, according to a study by UK researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine. These findings are important as they suggest that an upper gastrointestinal bleed may be either a cause or an indicator of a decline in a...

Smoking increased the risk for developing colon cancer, and female smokers may have a greater risk than male smokers, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Globally, during the last 50 years, the number of new colon cancer cases per year has exploded for both men and women," said Inger Torhild Gram, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of...

A new study reports that flexible endoscopic treatment of Zenker's diverticulum by using a diverticuloscope offers a treatment modality with a very low complication rate. Zenker's diverticulum is an abnormal pouch in the upper part of the esophagus that causes difficulty swallowing and is most commonly found in older patients. Clinical remission was achieved over a single session of treatment in the majority of the cases. This study also demonstrated the long-term efficacy of the technique....

A prospective study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) observed an association between risk of second primary cancer and history of non-melanoma skin cancer in white men and women. The researchers found that people with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer had a modestly increased risk of getting cancer in the future, specifically breast and lung cancer in women and melanoma in both men and women. Non-melanoma skin cancer, which includes basal cell and squamous cell...

Regular use of low-dose aspirin may prevent the progression of breast cancer, according to results of a study by researchers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., and the University of Kansas Medical Center. The study found that aspirin slowed the growth of breast cancer cell lines in the lab and significantly reduced the growth of tumors in mice. The age-old headache remedy also exhibits the ability to prevent tumor cells from spreading. The lead author of the...

Numerous epidemiologic studies have shown that a diet high in salt is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer. Now Timothy L. Cover and colleagues of Vanderbilt University show that high dietary salt combined with infection by the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori greatly increases the risk of cancer. The study was published ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity. In the study, the researchers infected Mongolian gerbils with H. pylori. One set of gerbils...

ECAN hosts national webinar on April 24. (PRWEB) April 18, 2013 April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month and ECAN (Esophageal Cancer Action Network) has brought together a distinguished panel for a special live webinar. This special event will provide answers for the millions struggling to learn more about this specific form of cancer. Esophageal Cancer is among the fastest growing cancer diagnoses in the United States, increasing by more than 600% in the past 35 years. Fewer than...