Bariatric surgery was associated with fewer incidences of new colorectal lesions in patients undergoing bariatric surgery compared with a control group not undergoing bariatric surgery, according to researchers from University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Gelesis has announced the presentation of data from a clinical study demonstrating that GS500 prototype (GS500/CSP01) provided a significant reduction in colonic transit time (CTT) in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) relative to placebo. The data were presented at Digestive Disease Week 2019, held in San Diego, CA.

In a series of interviews, we will be previewing this year’s ACPGBI annual meeting in Dublin, 1-3 July. We talked to Dr Per Nilsson, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and Senior Lecturer at Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden and current President of the European Society of Coloproctology, who discussed the benefits and current evidence for ‘Watch and wait’ and surgery for regrowth after neoadjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer.

Foundational research by a City of Hope physician-scientist and his colleagues could one day help metastatic colorectal cancer patients decide whether to choose immunotherapy or chemotherapy as their first treatment option.

Adults who were the most fit had the lowest risk of developing colorectal and lung cancer, and among individuals who developed lung or colorectal cancer, those who had high fitness levels before their cancer diagnosis were less likely to die compared with those who had low fitness levels. The findings, ‘Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Incident Lung and Colon Cancer in Men and Women: Results from the Henry Ford Exercise Testing (FIT) Cancer Cohort’, were published in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Starting routine colorectal cancer screening at age 45 rather than 50 would decrease US cancer deaths by as much as 11,100 over five years, according to a new study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The move would also decrease the number of cancer cases nationwide by up to 29,400 over that time period. However, screening a greater number of older and high-risk adults would avert nearly three times as many diagnoses and deaths at a lower cost, the study found.

A method that integrates tumour buds, lymphocytic infiltration, and their spatial relationship could better stratify patients with stage 2 colorectal cancer (CRC) at high risk for disease-specific death compared with traditional methods of clinical staging, according to results ‘Automated Analysis of Lymphocytic Infiltration, Tumor Budding, and Their Spatial Relationship Improves Prognostic Accuracy in Colorectal Cancer’,  published in Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have found a compound that may treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) without directly targeting inflammation. The compound tamps down the activity of a gene linked to blood clotting. They discovered that the gene was turned on at sites of intestinal inflammation and damage, and blocking its activity reduces IBD symptoms in mice. The research was featured in the paper, ‘PAI-1 augments mucosal damage in colitis,’ published in Science Translational Medicine.

Researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have determined how F. nucleatum - a common oral bacteria often implicated in tooth decay—accelerates the growth of colon cancer. The study, ‘Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes colorectal cancer by inducing Wnt/ß-catenin modulator Annexin A1’,  was published online in the journal EMBO Reports.

Researchers at the West Virginia University Cancer Institute are evaluating a first-of-its-kind blood test for detecting colorectal cancer. Their findings may help propel the test toward inclusion in the US Preventive Services Task Force's recommendations for colorectal cancer screening.

The largest study ever to examine why an expensive and commonly used group of drugs fails patients with Crohn's disease has concluded that standardised drug doses are often too low, according to a UK-wide collaboration led by the University of Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust.

Pentax Medical has launched two dedicated electrosurgical and argon plasma coagulation (APC) platforms - the Endo arc and Endo Plus - to its therapeutic accessories range. The launch of these units strengthens Pentax Medical’s integrated endoscopy solutions offering, completing the pathway from screening to diagnostics and into therapeutics.

University of Massachusetts Amherst food science researchers have pinpointed a set of enzymes involved in tumour growth that could be targeted to prevent or treat colon cancer. The study, ‘Targeted metabolomics identifies the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase eicosanoid pathway as a novel therapeutic target of colon tumorigenesis,’ was published in the journal Cancer Research.

A research team evaluating the impact of Medicaid expansion on the rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, incidence, and survival in Kentucky’s low-income population, have found that the number of Medicaid patients who received screening after the expansion was more than triple the number of patients who were screened before the expansion. Additionally, CRC patients relying on Medicaid exhibited improved survival after the expansion compared to before it was implemented. The study.

A study led by Salk Institute scientists suggests that high-fat diets fuel colorectal cancer growth by upsetting the balance of bile acids in the intestine and triggering a hormonal signal that lets potentially cancerous cells thrive. The study, ‘FXR Regulates Intestinal Cancer Stem Cell Proliferation’, which appeared in Cell could explain why colorectal cancer, which can take decades to develop, is being seen in younger people growing up at a time when higher-fat diets are common.

A study by Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute provides the strongest evidence to date to support recommendations that average risk patients can safely opt for an annual, easy-to-use home stool test instead of a screening colonoscopy, according to the outcomes from a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

In a series of interviews, we will be previewing this year’s ACPGBI annual meeting in Dublin, 1-3 July. We talked to Mr Brendan Moran, President of the ACPGBI, who highlighted some of the key sessions, presentations and speakers, as well as encouraging those with an interest in coloproctology to attend the meeting.

According to a new statement from a panel of national and international experts in gastroenterology, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other areas, interventional (or therapeutic) IBD endoscopy has an expanding role in the treatment of disease and of adverse events from surgery.

Rare mutations in the NTHL1 gene, previously associated with colorectal cancer, also cause breast cancer and other types of cancer. Researchers from Radboud University Medical Center, Leiden University Medical Center and the Princess Máxima Center in the Netherlands report this new multi-tumor syndrome, in collaboration with international colleagues, in Cancer Cell (‘Mutational Signature Analysis Reveals NTHL1 Deficiency to Cause a Multi-tumor Phenotype’).

Check-Cap has received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from New York University School of Medicine to initiate a U.S. pilot study of the C-Scan system. According to the company, C-Scan is the first and only preparation-free ingestible scanning capsule for the prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC) through the detection of precancerous polyps.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine have reported that aspirin is underutilised to prevent colorectal cancer as well as recurrent polyps in high risk patients. Their study, ‘Underutilization of aspirin in patients with advanced colorectal polyps,’ was published in The American Journal of Medicine

Colorectal surgery is a hands-on activity, but in recent years the effectiveness of traditional assessment methods in evaluating surgeons' technical skills has been called into question. A team of collaborators with ties to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, is pioneering the use of virtual reality (VR) technologies to train and objectively evaluate colorectal surgeons without putting any patients at risk. The project is supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

Penn State College of Medicine researchers have reported that some cannabinoid compounds may actually inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells in the laboratory. The researchers tested the effects of synthetic cannabinoid compounds on colon cancer cells in an experiment in test tubes. While the compounds most commonly associated with cannabis - THC and CBD - showed little to no effect, ten other compounds were effective at inhibiting cancer cell growth.

A new study, ‘Sedentary Behaviours, TV Viewing Time, and Risk of Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer,’ published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, has identified a connection between prolonged time spent sitting while watching TV and increased risk of colorectal cancer for younger Americans. These findings are among the first to link specific sedentary behavioural patterns with risk of young-onset colorectal cancer.

The first report from a phase II, multi-centre clinical trial indicates that a newer, more aggressive form of radiation therapy - stereotactic radiation - can extend long-term survival for some patients with stage-IV cancers while maintaining their quality of life. The study, ‘Initial Results of a Multicenter Phase 2 Trial of Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy for Oligometastatic Cancer,’ was published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, the scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

A US$18.8 million, five-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases is assessing three treatment options: medical management, pacemaker to stimulate the sacral nerve and biofeedback. Faecal incontinence, or accidental stool leakage, affects some 8 to 10 percent of the 325 million people in the United States. In up to half of patients, there is both faecal and urinary incontinence.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales have reported that the incidence of bowel cancer, which includes colon and rectal cancer, has increased by up to 9 percent in people under 50 from the 1990s until now. The study, ‘Exposure to Trace Elements and Risk of Skin Cancer: A Systematic Review of Epidemiologic Studies,’ published recently in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention also found bowel cancer incidence is falling in older Australians.

Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University have discovered how chronic inflammation of the colon enables cancer. A scientific team led by Dr Kebin Liu has found it turns one more protective mechanism against us and silences another. The research is featured in the paper, ‘Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Produce IL-10 to Elicit DNMT3b-Dependent IRF8 Silencing to Promote Colitis-Associated Colon Tumorigenesis,’ published in Cell Reports.

A large-scale study conducted among East Asians and led by Vanderbilt University researchers has identified multiple, previously unknown genetic risk factors for colorectal cancer. The research paper, ‘Large-scale Genome-wide Association Study of East Asians Identifies Loci Associated With Risk for Colorectal Cancer,’ published in Gastroenterology, is the second largest discovery of novel genetic risk variants for colorectal cancer in a single study published to date.

Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein involved in cell proliferation and the development of new blood vessels that could serve as a marker for the early detection of colorectal cancers. The paper, ‘Lactosylceramide synthase β-1,4-GalT-V: A novel target for the diagnosis and therapy of human colorectal cancer,’ was published in the journal, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

New research suggests that exercise is a key factor in reducing colorectal cancer risk after weight loss. According to the study, physical activity causes beneficial changes in the bone marrow. The study, ‘Effects of obesity and exercise on colon cancer induction and hematopoiesis in mice,’ was published in the journal American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Antibiotic prophylaxis regimens are becoming less effective at preventing surgical site infections following colorectal surgery, according to researchers at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy and Princeton University determined through a systematic review of available literature.

A new study conducted in adult and paediatric patients with Crohn's disease, led by UNC School of Medicine researchers and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, has found that a set of biomolecules known as microRNAs, specifically microRNA-31 (miR-31), can help predict which patients with Crohn's disease are at higher risk for the development of severe problems that may require surgical removal of the large intestine.

Traditional laxatives are recommended as first-line agents to treat patients with a confirmed diagnosis of opioid-induced constipation (OIC), according to a new guidelines, ‘American Gastroenterological Association Institute Guideline on the Medical Management of Opioid-Induced Constipation,’ published in the journal Gastroenterology, from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).

Bowel Cancer UK has handed in an open letter to the to the UK government calling for a fully funded action plan to tackle NHS staff shortages in diagnostic services for bowel cancer – England’s second biggest cancer killer. The letter comes ahead of the Government spending review and calls on the Chancellor and Health Secretary to invest in more NHS staff to cope with the rising demand for bowel cancer tests.

Women who are overweight or have obesity have up to twice the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) before age 50 as women who have what is considered a ‘normal’ BMI, according to new research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis.

A new study shows that two inflammatory proteins in the colon increase in parallel with increasing weight in humans. An incremental rise in these pro-inflammatory proteins (called cytokines) was observed along the entire spectrum of subjects' weights, which extended from lean to obese individuals. In participants with obesity, there was evidence that two pre-cancerous cellular pathways known to be triggered by these cytokines were also activated.

European Society for Coloproctology (ESCP) has announced it is establishing additional cohort studies on robotic colorectal surgery, the management of acute severe Ulcerative Colitis and parastomal hernia repair in 2019. The ESCP has previously undertaken a major international audit of colorectal operations to understand which are most widely used techniques across the world, which appear to be associated with the best outcomes and where further research needs to be undertaken.

A new study by the group of Professor Alison Simmons at the MRC Human Immunology Unit based in the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford, UK, paves the way for better treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) by providing the first detailed single cell resolution analysis of colon cells in health and disease.

There are many studies that have demonstrated a connection between obesity and a person's risk of developing colon and other gastrointestinal cancers, and scientists at the Huntsman Cancer Institute's National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Cente are investigating approaches that can break this relationship.

The European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) has announced the winner of its best abstract research paper as ‘Therapy refractory ulcerative colitis patients may benefit from appendectomy’ by Dr Merle Stellingwerf and colleagues at its 13th Annual Conference in Nice, France. Merle Stellingwerf was confirmed as the winner on the back of her presentation at the ‘Six Best Papers’ session at the event which is attended and voted on by specialists from across Europe.

The European Society of Coloproctologists (ESCP) has awarded the Lars Påhlman EBSQ medal to Dr Nuri Okkabaz from Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Nuri Okkabaz was awarded the Lars Påhlman medal at the 2018 ESCP meeting after obtaining the highest score in the 2017 European Board of Surgery Qualification (EBSQ) exam, during a ceremony at the ESCP’s annual meeting in France 2018.

The European Society of Coloproctology’s (ESCP) Education Committee has launched a new training school to help surgeons continue their professional education and development in the latest techniques of their field - the European School of Coloproctology (ESC). The School will offer a series of training courses in topics such as laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision and creation of continent pouches and continent ileostomies.

New research showing that the first bacteria introduced into the gut have a lasting impact may one day allow science to adjust microbiomes - the one-of-a-kind microbial communities that live in our gastrointestinal tracts - to help ward off serious chronic diseases. The discovery sheds new light on how these microbiomes, which are as personal as fingerprints, establish themselves and what drives their unique nature.

Researchers at Technical University Munich have reported colon cancer is caused by bacteria and cell stress, more specifically activated transcription factor ATF6 and that chronic inflammation has no effect on cancer development in the colon. It was known that ATF6 regulates stress in cells, and the intensity and duration of activation is increased with diseases. In this latest study, ATF6 incidence was found to be increased in colon cancer patients.

Researchers from the University of Luxembourg have discovered a molecular mechanism that is responsible for the spread of cancer cells in the body and the development of metastases in patients with colon cancer. Their findings could help to develop treatments that inhibit tumour growth.

A new nuclear medicine imaging method could help diagnose widespread tumours, such as breast, colon, pancreas, lung and head and neck cancer better than current methods, with less inconvenience to patients and with equal or improved accuracy, according to researchers from the University Hospital of Heidelberg and at the German Cancer Research Center. The paper, ‘A Tumor-Imaging Method Targeting Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts’, was published in Journal of Nuclear Medicine

New research suggests that probiotics might not be as effective as we think. Through a series of experiments looking inside the human gut, researchers found that many people's digestive tracts prevent standard probiotics from successfully colonising them. Furthermore, taking probiotics to counterbalance antibiotics could delay the return of normal gut bacteria and gut gene expression to their naïve state. The research publishes as two back-to-back papers in the journal Cell.

A new study carried out by a team led by Professor Heiko Hermeking at the Institute of Pathology at LMU (and German Cancer Consortium) shows that the regulatory protein c-MYC, which plays an important role in promoting the development of many types of tumours, induces the production of a transcription factor that increases the numbers of stem cells in the intestinal epithelium, and thereby contributes to the formation of adenomas in the colon.

Chromosomal catastrophes have been found to occur along the evolutionary timeline of colorectal cancer  development, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London. The paper, 'The evolutionary landscape of colorectal tumorigenesis', published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, compared the genetics of benign and cancerous bowel tumours and revealed that the benign growths were more heterogeneous than the cancerous tumours.

Abivax has announced topline results from its Phase 2a clinical trial, ABX464-101, conducted in 32 patients for induction treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC), refractory to anti-TNF monoclonal antibodies or corticosteroids. In summary, the topline data indicate that ABX464 was safe, well-tolerated, and demonstrated statistically significant efficacy based on both clinical and endoscopic endpoints in this study.

A team of researchers from UK and US has developed a way to use artificial intelligence to predict how cancer might change and spread in patients. Over many years of cancer research, scientists have discovered that tumours actually evolve, allowing them to change their form and the way they spread.

Preemptive pain medication is safe and reduces pain in the early postoperative period for patients undergoing anorectal surgery (ARS), according to a study published in the journal of Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. The researchers found that patients in the active group had significantly less pain in the post-anaesthesia care unit and at eight hours postoperatively. Furthermore, significantly fewer participants in the active group used narcotics in the post-anaesthesia care unit and at eight hours postoperatively.

An evolutionary model utilising serial blood samples from patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with anti-EGFR therapies in a phase II trial could predict personalised waiting time for progression.

Many patients with colon cancer do not need any chemotherapy and in those patients who benefit from chemotherapy it does not have to be as intense for everyone, according to a new study from Uppsala University.

A team of researchers from Queen Mary University of London have reported the genetic events involved in the early development of bowel cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Such knowledge may be able to be exploited to design simple diagnostic tests to stratify patients with IBD at high risk of developing cancer.

By genetically manipulating and removing the most common mutant form of the p53 gene that promotes colorectal cancer in humans, an international team of scientists has demonstrated that this therapy reduces tumour growth and tissue invasion. The research was led by Dr Ute Moll, Professor and cancer biologist in the Department of Pathology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, the findings published in Cancer Cell.

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in collaboration with colleagues from the National Cancer Institute and elsewhere, have shown that in many cancers a patient's nitrogen metabolism is altered, producing detectable changes in the body fluids and contributing to the emergence of new mutations in cancerous tissue. The study, ‘Urea Cycle Dysregulation Generates Clinically Relevant Genomic and Biochemical Signatures,’ published in Cell, may in the future facilitate early detection of cancer and help predict the success of immunotherapy.

Chemicals produced by vegetables such as kale, cabbage and broccoli could help to maintain a healthy gut and prevent colon cancer, according to a study from the Francis Crick Institute shows. The research, ‘The Environmental Sensor AHR Protects from Inflammatory Damage by Maintaining Intestinal Stem Cell Homeostasis and Barrier Integrity’, published in Immunity, shows that mice fed on a diet rich in indole-3-carbinol, which is produced when we digest vegetables from the Brassica genus, were protected from gut inflammation and colon cancer.

Ludwig Cancer Research and the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) have announced the initiation of a clinical trial to evaluate the combination of ONCOS-102, an experimental anti-tumour virotherapy, with the checkpoint blockade antibody IMFINZI (durvalumab) for advanced ovarian and colorectal cancers.

As many as 50 percent of human cancer cases, across a wide variety of tissues, involve defects in a common cellular growth signalling pathway. These defects have so far defied most attempts to develop targeted therapies, leading some in the field to conclude that they may be ‘undruggable’. Now researchers at UC San Francisco and Redwood City-based Revolution Medicines, have identified a new strategy for potentially treating a subset of such intractable cancers by decoupling the entire RAS/MAP Kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway from external growth signals.

An innovative programme in community health centres to mail free colorectal cancer (CRC) screening tests to patients' homes results in a nearly 4 percentage point increase in CRC screening, compared to clinics without the programme, according to a Kaiser Permanente study, ‘Effectiveness of a Mailed Colorectal Cancer Screening Outreach Program in Community Health Clinics’, published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California are 52 percent less likely to die from colorectal cancer since the health care system launched a comprehensive, organised screening program, according to a study, ‘Effects of Organized Colorectal Cancer Screening on Cancer Incidence and Mortality in a Large, Community-based Population,’ published in Gastroenterology.

An analysis examining the impact of bariatric surgery on cancer has indicated that bariatric surgery may affect an individual's risk of developing cancer, although the researchers note that additional studies are needed to understand the biological mechanisms behind these findings.

Inhibiting the Jagged 1 protein in mice prevents the proliferation and growth of colon and rectal tumours, according to a study led by the Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer and Stem Cells research group from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), directed by Dr Lluís Espinosa, who is also a member of CIBERONC (the Network Centre for Biomedical Research into Cancer), in collaboration with the Pathological Anatomy and Medical Oncology Units at Hospital del Mar, and the IDIBELL-Catalan Oncology Institute.

Patients with colorectal cancer tumours on the right side may have poorer five-year survival rates than those whose tumours are located on the left side. However, the large-scale retrospective study is the first to demonstrate a potential improvement of these outcomes.

Individuals younger than 50 years of age who are diagnosed with rectal cancer do not experience an overall survival benefit from currently recommended treatments, according to the study, ‘Rectal cancer patients under 50 years of age lack a survival benefit from NCCN guideline-directed treatment for stage II and III disease’, published in Cancer - a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Two pre-surgery checklists from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Strong for Surgery (S4S) program that incorporate best practices for engaging patients in preparing for their upcoming operations, significantly improved lifestyle factors that pose an increased risk for postoperative complications or help support healing and postoperative recovery.

A novel nuclear medicine approach is showing great promise for precision treatment of solid tumours in many types of cancer including lung, breast, pancreas and ovarian in adults and glioma, neuroblastoma and sarcoma in children. The research was presented at the SNMMI 2018 Annual Meeting, June 23-26 in Philadelphia.

Patients younger than 50 years of age who are diagnosed with rectal cancer do not experience an overall survival benefit from currently recommended treatments, suggesting that early onset disease may differ from later onset disease in terms of biology and response to therapy, according to a study published in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

A study authored by scientists from the American Cancer Society, the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the US National Cancer Institute, and more than 20 other medical centres and organisations has reported that higher circulating vitamin D concentrations are significantly associated with lower colorectal cancer risk. This study strengthens the evidence, previously considered inconclusive, for a protective relationship.

A novel nuclear medicine approach is showing great promise for precision treatment of solid tumours in many types of cancer including colorectal cancer, lung, breast, pancreas and ovarian in adults and glioma, neuroblastoma and sarcoma in children. The research was presented at the SNMMI 2018 Annual Meeting, June 23-26 in Philadelphia.

The first report outcomes form the International Watch & Wait Database (IWWD) has report that local regrowth occurs mostly in the first two years and in the bowel wall, “emphasising the importance of endoscopic surveillance to ensure the option of deferred curative surgery.” The paper, ‘Long-term outcomes of clinical complete responders after neoadjuvant treatment for rectal cancer in the International Watch & Wait Database (IWWD): an international multicentre registry study’, published in The Lancet, was written on behalf of the WWD Consortium.

The first comprehensive study comparing the outcomes of robotic surgery to those of traditional open surgery in any organ has found that the surgeries are equally effective in treating bladder cancer.

A new analysis of a large, international audit undertaken by the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) in 2015, which examined the role of technical factors on the healing of the join in the bowel following operations on the right side of the colon, found that neither the choice of type of stapler (cutting or non-cutting), nor over-sewing of the staple line affected the rate of leakage. However, having the surgery performed by a general surgeon vs colorectal surgeon was associated with an increased risk of leak (12.1% versus 7.3%).

In accordance with the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) does not intend to change its recommendations for colorectal cancer screening based on the recent change in the American Cancer Society (ACS) guideline.

Researchers at the University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand, have identified a toxic bacteria they believe may cause bowel cancer and could lead to a life-saving vaccine or early detection test for the too-often deadly disease. The study investigators found a toxic form of a bacteria called Bacteroides fragilis in the gut of almost 80 per cent of people with a pre-cancerous lesion – a precursor to the disease.

Intravenous (IV) acetaminophen is no more effective than oral acetaminophen for patients undergoing colorectal procedures, according to researchers from Mount Sinai. In a first-of-its-kind study, the findings suggest that eliminating use of IV acetaminophen, which is much more expensive than its oral counterpart, may result in very significant cost savings for hospitals with no impact on the patient experience or outcomes.

In a series of interviews, we will be previewing this year’s ACPGBI annual meeting in Birmingham, 9-11 July. We talked to Professor Angus Watson (Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at Raigmore hospital, Inverness and Director of Research, Development & innovation for NHS Highland) who will be organising a session on the influence of information technology on colorectal practice and how it can be harnessed to improve research, as well as outcomes for patients.

Continuing our series of interviews previewing this year’s ACPGBI annual meeting, 9-11 July, we talked to Mr Andrew Williams (Consultant Colorectal Pelvic Floor Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK) who highlighted some of the key topics under discussion during the Pelvic Floor sessions in Birmingham.

Continuing our series of interviews previewing this year’s ACPGBI annual meeting, 9-11 July, we talked to Mr Austin Acheson (Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at Nottingham University Hospital, UK and Chair of ACPGBI Research and Audit Committee) who highlighted some of the key topics under discussion during the Research Sessions in Birmingham.

Putting nurses in charge of colorectal cancer surveillance instead of doctors has shown to reduce the number of unnecessary colonoscopies and the number of cases progressing to cancer, according to a South Australian audit. The researchers examined 732 colonoscopies over three months in 2015 found that 97 per cent of procedures adhered to Australian guidelines in the nurse-led model, compared with compliance of just 83 per cent physician-led surveillance model.

Higher circulating vitamin D concentrations are significantly associated with lower colorectal cancer risk, according to a study by scientists from the American Cancer Society, the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the US National Cancer Institute, and more than 20 other medical centres and organisations.

Increasing the number of follow-up tests for patients with stage II or III colorectal cancer does not result in a significant rate reduction in five-year overall mortality or colorectal cancer–specific mortality, according to the results from the COLOFOL randomised clinical trial. Trial researchers in Sweden, Denmark and Uruguay reported that follow-up testing with computed tomography (CT) and carcinoembryonic antigen more frequently vs less frequently offered no benefit.

Pentax Medical has entered into an agreement with Avantis Medical Systems to distribute through its US salesforce, the Avantis Third Eye Panoramic device, a wide-angle visualisation tool that significantly expands the view obtained from traditional colonoscopes during screenings for colon cancer.

Lifestyle-related cancers, such as lung, colorectal and skin cancers, have increased globally over the past decade, according to the most comprehensive analysis of cancer-related health outcomes and patterns ever conducted.

People diagnosed with advanced colon cancer pay twice more per month for treatment in the US than in Canada but do not live any longer, according to research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Chicago, IL.

Intuitive Surgical has gained FDA clearance for the da Vinci SP surgical system for urologic surgical procedures that are appropriate for a single port approach. Intuitive’s da Vinci SP surgical system for urologic surgical procedures that are appropriate for a single port approach. The da Vinci SP system provides surgeons with robotic-assisted technology designed for deep and narrow access to tissue in the body. The ability to enter the body through a single, small incision helps surgeons perform more complex procedures.

Scientists have developed a swallowed capsule packed with tiny electronics and millions of genetically engineered living cells that might someday be used to spot health problems from inside the gut. The capsule was tested in pigs and correctly detected signs of bleeding researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report in the journal Science, suggesting the capsule could eventually be used in people to find signs of ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease or even colon cancer.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has released an updated guideline for colorectal cancer screening. Among the major guideline changes, the new recommendations state screening should begin at age 45 for people at average risk. Previously, the guideline recommended screening begin at age 50 for people at average risk.  The recommendations for screening test options are also part of the guideline changes.

Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have applied a chemical found in soybeans to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and increased its anticancer properties and reduced its side effects. Findings of the preclinical study of phosphatidylcholine (also called lecithin), 'Chemoprevention with phosphatidycholine non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in vivo and in vitro', was published in Oncology Letters. 

Ingestion of a blue dye tablet during bowel prep for colonoscopy could be a significant advance in the early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC), according to research to be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2018. Study researchers from Humanitas University Medical School in Milan, Italy, found that when used in conjunction with colonoscopy, the blue dye increased adenoma detection rate (ADR) by nearly 9 percent.

For the first time in humans, researchers will test a two-pronged approach to treat advanced stage colorectal cancer (CRC), potentially increasing life expectancy. Combining a DNA vaccine, which boosts the body's immune response against tumours, with an antibody that blocks the body's natural defence against the potency of the DNA vaccine, may lead to the development of an effective treatment for late stage CRC, when a cure is not often possible. Preliminary research leading up to this trial will be presented at Digestive Disease Week 2018 in June.

A US retrospective study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found no association between intensity of post-treatment surveillance and detection of recurrence or overall survival (OS) in patients with stage I, II or III colorectal cancer (CRC). Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study is the largest of surveillance intensity in CRC ever conducted.

A novel light therapy is being investigated as an alternative to prescription drugs to relieve chronic constipation and other intestinal disorders which affect millions of patients around the world. Researchers at Flinders University and Washington University have found a "significant technical breakthrough" in a new light and optogenetics technique which has the potential to replace drugs as a less toxic remedy to debilitating gastrointestinal conditions.

Researchers have identified a correlation between gut microbial composition and microRNA expression in human colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the journal mSystems. The study is the first to demonstrate that the interaction between microRNA and the gut microbiome may play a role in colorectal cancer.

There is no evidence that publishing patient death rates for individual bowel surgeons in England has led to risk averse behaviour or 'gaming' of data, according to a published by The BMJ. In fact, the results show that the introduction of public reporting of individual surgeons' outcomes coincided with a substantial reduction in mortality for patients having non-emergency bowel cancer surgery.

Researchers have identified a new molecular mechanism to explain the link between obesity and increased risk of colon inflammation, which is a major risk factor in colorectal cancer. The research team, which includes scientists at the University of California Davis, suggest for the first time that inhibiting an enzyme known as soluble epoxide hydrolase, sHE, may abolish this risk of obesity-induced colonic inflammation, say Zhang and colleagues.

An analysis of electronic medical records indicates that patients who previously had a false-positive breast or prostate cancer screening test are more likely to obtain future recommended cancer screenings. Published Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study, ‘Implications of false‐positive results for future cancer screenings’ suggests that false-positives may be reminders to screen for cancer.

Offering sigmoidoscopy screening to men and women in Norway reduced colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality in men, but had little or no effect in women, suggesting that current guidelines recommending that women get screened for CRC with flexible sigmoidoscopy should be reconsidered. The results from the randomised trial were published in the paper, ‘Long-Term Effectiveness of Sigmoidoscopy Screening on Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Women and Men: A Randomized Trial’, in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at Boston Medical Center, in collaboration with Northwestern University, are using nanocytology imaging technology to create an effective and inexpensive way to screen for colorectal cancer among young adults. Developed by Dr Vadim Backman at Northwestern, nanocytology, allows scientists to visualise particles much smaller than a normal microscope and identify cancer risk markers accurately. The test will be low-cost and can be performed in a primary care setting.

Colon polyps from patients with Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that raises colorectal cancer risk, display immune system activation well before cancer development, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The preclinical research challenges traditional models of cancer immune activation and suggests immunotherapy may be useful for colorectal cancer prevention in certain high-risk groups.

Researchers from New Zealand have for the first time identified unique genetic patterns for four different sub-types of colorectal cancer, which respond differently to a variety of cancer treatments. The findings could mean in future clinicians can personalise treatment to people with different forms of the disease.

Interim results from VolitionRx’s first asymptomatic colorectal cancer (CRC) frontline screening study assessing it’s Nu.Q panel, demonstrated that a small panel of three ELISA assays, when considered with the subjects' ages and smoking histories, produced an area under the curve (AUC) of 83% and was able to detect 80% of Stage I CRC cases and 66% of High-Risk Adenomas (HRA) at 78% specificity, respectively.

Researchers from Queen's University Belfast have demonstrated for the first time how molecular analysis of clinical trial biopsy samples can be used to help clinicians identify the key changes that occur in an individual patient's bowel (colorectal) tumour prior to surgery, so clinicians can better understand and treat the disease. It is thought that this 'personalised medicine' approach could ultimately improve the prognosis and quality of life for bowel cancer patients.

A new risk-prediction model, built by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) in Seattle and colleagues, assesses the impact of environment and genetic factors on the development of colorectal cancer. The researchers calculated the combined risk from 19 lifestyle and environmental factors and 63 genetic variants associated with colorectal cancer. Current guidelines recommend initial screening at age 50 unless someone has a family history of colorectal cancer.

The European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) has confirmed its dedication to furthering the prevention, treatment, education and research into colorectal disease by expanding its research committee.

The three additional specialists joining the research committee are:

RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) is leading an international team of scientists on a major research study, COLOSSUS, which aims to provide new and more effective ways to classify and treat patients with colorectal cancer. The project will focus on colorectal cancer that has spread from the colon to other parts of the body (metastatic colorectal cancer, mCRC).

A retrospective study assessing postoperative pain scores and analgesia requirements after single port and multi-port laparoscopic ileocaecal resection (ICR) for Crohn's disease, has reported that the single port procedure is associated with less pain and a reduction in opioid analgesia compared with the standard multi-port ICR procedure. The paper, ‘Single port laparoscopic ileocaecal resection for Crohn's disease: a multicentre comparison with multi-port laparoscopy’, was published in Colorectal Disease.

The St Gallen Colorectal Consensus Expert Group, consisting of 37 colorectal surgeons from 20 countries and five continents (Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australasia) and a radiologist, pathologist and medical oncologist, have published a broad international consensus statement for the optimal practice of transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME). The statement provides guidance on the safe implementation of, and how to avoid the pitfalls and potential major morbidity encountered by, the procedure.

A report led by Professor Mark Lawler, Chair in Translational Cancer Genomics at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, plans to end bowel cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death in Europe. The report, ‘Critical research gaps and recommendations to inform research prioritisation for more effective prevention and improved outcomes in colorectal cancer’, was published in the January edition of the journal Gut.

Using patient tumour grafts with metformin, a common diabetes drug, might help fight colorectal cancer in humans, according to researchers from A*STAR's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the Biological Resource Centre, and the Genome Institute of Singapore, with collaborators from hospitals across Singapore.

Researchers from the University of Luxembourg found a new biomarker for colorectal cancer (CRC) that might improve therapy and survival rates of patients. In a study supported by the Fondation Cancer and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), an interdisciplinary team composed of experimental and computational scientists from the Molecular Disease Mechanisms (MDM) group at the Life Sciences Research Unit of the University of Luxembourg has recently discovered a new promising biomarker for colorectal cancer.

A research team of Information and Communication Engineering at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) has developed the world's first multimodal biomicroscopic system to analyse the characteristics of tumours and to utilise them in tumour treatment technology research. The imaging system accurately analyses the characteristics of tumours using the mechanical, chemical, and structural properties of colorectal cancer. It is the result of a collaboration with the research team of Eunjoo Kim from the Department of Nano & Energy Research.

The efficacy and safety of self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) placement for malignant rectal obstruction are comparable to those for left colonic obstruction, according to researchers from Yonsei University College of Medicine and Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

A pilot study examining to the utility of the hashtag #colorectalsurgery in promoting a specialty-specific forum to increase discussion and science among coloproctologists, has concluded that #colorectalsurgery is an innovative method for bridging barriers and strengthening collaboration among global coloproctologists.

The most comprehensive genome-wide association study, or GWAS, of colorectal cancer risk to date has discovered 40 new genetic variants and validated 55 previously identified variants that signal an increased risk of colon cancer. The paper, ‘Discovery of common and rare genetic risk variants for colorectal cancer,’ was published Nature Genetics.

It is well known that cancer incidence is increasing worldwide, with pockets of human populations and geographical locations seemingly at higher risk than others, and that populations living in very low temperatures, like in Denmark and Norway, had among the highest incidences of cancer in the world.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a collaborative five-year $2.6 million grant to create innovative models of colorectal cancer that will enhance understanding of how the disease develops and spreads. This grant — a collaboration between Cleveland Clinic, Duke University and Cornell University — is the newest project funded by NCI’s Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative (TEC) Research Program. The programme supports the development and characterisation of state-of-the-art tissue engineered technologies for cancer research.

The first ever National Audit of Small Bowel Obstruction (NASBO) has published six key recommendations for improving standard care, the results will be a vital resource for the development of NHS guidelines and future research work. Small bowel obstruction is an enormous burden on NHS resources, accounting for up to 50% of emergency abdominal surgeries performed in the UK every year, with 13% of these patients dying within three months. NASBO’s findings showed average hospital stays of ten days, with 13% of discharged patients re-admitted within 30 days.

Rising rates of opioid prescriptions have been linked to the opioid epidemic, and a significant number of opioid deaths have been linked to prescriptions written by surgeons. However, a study has suggested that a more vigilant prescribing guideline for surgeons could reduce the number of opioid pills prescribed after operations by up to 40 percent and still meet patients' pain management needs. The study, ‘A Guideline for Discharge Opioid Prescriptions after Inpatient General Surgical Procedures’, was published in Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

More than a third (34 percent) of women with bowel cancer in England were diagnosed after an emergency hospital visit, compared to less than a third of men (30 percent), despite women having more red flag symptoms and more visits to their GP, according to research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, UK.

If diagnosed after an emergency hospital visit, patients are more likely to have poorer survival as the disease is usually at an advanced stage.

Research at the University of Plymouth has led to the creation a new website to help families at a high risk of bowel cancer. The website - www.familyweb.org.uk - was designed by PhD student Selina Goodman to enable families to share vital information about their genetic diagnosis with other family members and health professionals. Funded by local charity Bowel Cancer West and approved by the NHS, the website could help thousands of people – with 40,000 new cases of the disease diagnosed every year.

A team of researchers working at Harvard University has found evidence that suggests a certain type of bacteria found in colon cancer tumours makes its way to tumours in other body parts by traveling with the metastasizing cells. In their paper, ‘Analysis of Fusobacteriumpersistence and antibiotic response in colorectal cancer’, published in the journal Science, the group describes their study of the bacteria and its possible link to being a cause of colon cancer.

An American Cancer Society (ACS) programme has been effective in promoting improvements in colorectal cancer screening rates in federally qualified health centres (FQHCs) and could have implications for broader public health efforts to increase cancer prevention and screening, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

A long-term study on the treatment of anal fistulas conducted on 117 patients with an average follow-up period of 25.4 months (overall study duration of 6–60 months) confirms a primary success rate of 64.1% from initial therapy using FiLaC. The secondary cure rate (a second smaller procedure) was as high as 85.5%.

Poor patient outcomes are common after planned (elective) in-patient surgery and that mortality rates following complications are at broadly similar levels in the poorest and wealthiest countries although patient populations may differ, according to a paper, ‘Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries,’ published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia by the International Surgical Outcomes Study Group.

The absence of inflammatory and ulcerative lesions in all segments of the colon – or mucosal healing - should be the end goal in treating patients with ulcerative colitis according to an editorial, ‘Zeroing in on endoscopic and histologic mucosal healing to reduce the risk of colorectal neoplasia in inflammatory bowel disease,’ published in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

A single protein from a worm parasite may offer new therapeutic options for treating inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's Disease or ulcerative colitis, that avoid the potentially serious side effects of current immunosuppressant medications. The study, 'A structurally distinct TGF-β mimic from an intestinal helminth parasite potently induces regulatory T cells,' is published in Nature Communications,’ published in Nature Communications, demonstrates the discovery of a distinct new worm protein which mimics a cytokine found in humans, known as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β).

Women with stronger social networks had better survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis, according to researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital. Study lead, Dr Ying Bao, an epidemiologist in BWH's Channing Division of Network Medicine and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, concluded that social network strengthening could be a useful tool for management of colorectal cancer.

Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) should begin at 45 years of age to match rising mortality rates in young adults, according to research presented at the 25th UEG Week Barcelona. CRC is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in Europe, killing 215,000 Europeans every year, with research recently revealing that three in ten CRC diagnoses are now among people younger than 55.

Researchers from the University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea, have identified links not only between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but also to cancers outside the liver, including colorectal and breast cancer. The study, ‘Association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cancer incidence rate,’ was published in the Journal of Hepatology,

Cancer cells consume exorbitant amounts of glucose, a key source of energy, and shutting down this glucose consumption has long been considered a logical therapeutic strategy. However, good pharmacological targets to stop cancers' ability to uptake and metabolise glucose are missing. In a new study published in Cell Reports, a team of University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers, led by Drs Matthew Galbraith and Joaquin Espinosa, finally identifies a way to restrict the ability of cancer to use glucose for energy.

People treated for non-metastatic colon cancer who added 5 grams of fibre to their diet reduced their odds of dying by nearly 25 percent, according to a study by researchers from the department of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"What you eat after you've been diagnosed may make a difference," said associate professor, Dr Andrew Chan. "There is a possibility that increasing your intake of fibre may actually lower the rate of dying from colon cancer and maybe even other causes."

A new, three-step system that uses nuclear medicine to target and eliminate colorectal cancer has been developed by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. In a mouse study, the researchers achieved a 100% cure rate - without any treatment-related toxic effects.

A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has identified a potential strategy for improving the efficacy of angiogenesis inhibitors, drugs that help fight cancer by blocking the formation of new blood vessels. In a follow-up to a study published earlier this year that discovered how anti-angiogenesis treatment can interfere with the immune response against colorectal cancer, the team now describes another pathway that induces an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment, one that can be blocked with an FDA-approved drug.

Most colorectal cancer develops from precursors known as polyps, the most common and well researched of which are conventional adenomas. Conventional adenomas often progress to colorectal cancer through an intermediate step called high-risk adenomas. Another type of polyp known as serrated polyps, may precede up to 15% of colorectal cancer. Serrated polyps may occur in up to 20% of all adults over 50 years of age, however, when it comes to progression to colorectal cancer, less is known about serrated polyps than conventional adenomas.

For decades, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to directly target mutant KRAS proteins as a means to treat tumours. Instead of targeting mutant KRAS itself, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are now looking for other genes or molecules that, when inhibited, kill cancer cells only when KRAS is also mutated.

An international audit undertaken by the European Society of Coloproctologists (ESCP) and Surgeons of European Crohn’s & Colitis Organisation (S-ECCO) underlines the importance of close cooperation between gastroenterologists and IBD surgeons to identify Crohn’s patients who need surgical intervention. The study predicts that this collaborative approach will reduce the number of urgent operations and therefore allow patient-tailored and timely pre-operative optimisation.

Interventions, such as patient navigators and provider reminders, may improve follow-up colonoscopy rates after a positive faecal blood test, according to the findings from a systematic evidence review published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

A study by Osaka University researchers has found that non-labelling multiphoton microscopy (NL-MPM) can be used for quantitative imaging of cancer that is safe and requires no resection, fixation or staining of tissues. Professor Masaru Ishii and his team of scientists have been exploring non-labelling microscopy methods as a means to observe and diagnose the cancer while preserving as much information as possible.

A study funded by the Bowel Disease Research Foundation (BDRF) has helped to improve our understanding of and to improve bowel cancer prevention through a groundbreaking investigation of fluorescent technologies. The study helped doctors during colonoscopy, using a type of plant protein called lectins to identify abnormal areas of the bowel at risk of developing into cancer.

Lectins bind differently to the bowel wall depending on whether or not the tissue is abnormal – thus identifying lesions that could develop into cancer.

The European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) has launched a new mobile application to enable an enhanced interactive experience for delegates at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Society in Berlin, Germany. This year’s programme includes keynote sessions from leaders in the surgical field including from Prof Yves Panis, Prof Nicolas Demartines and Mr Brendan Moran. Sessions will cover topics ranging from minimally invasive surgery for ulcerative colitis, to treating early colorectal cancer to enhanced recovery programmes after surgery.

An analysis of more than 600 major colorectal surgeries using a "checklist" tool has added further evidence that racial and socioeconomic disparities may occur during many specific stages of surgical care, particularly in pain management.

A report of the study's findings by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, published in Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, documents the specific ways in which historically disadvantaged populations receive less optimal pain management and are placed on "enhanced recovery" protocols later than their wealthier and white counterparts.

In an innovative approach to colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention and treatment, scientists are studying ways to replace missing metabolites in patients prone to gut inflammation and CRC. The study, 'Gut Microbe-mediated Suppression of Inflammation-associated Colon Carcinogenesis by Luminal Histamine Production', was published in the American Journal of Pathology, describes how administration of histamine-producing gut microbes to mice lacking the enzyme histidine decarboxylase (HDC) reduced inflammation and tumour formation.

Genetic research conducted at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine and Stanley S Scott Cancer Center has demonstrated for the first time that a novel protein can cause normal cells in the lining of the colon to become malignant, grow and spread, as well as take on the characteristics of stem cells. The work, which details the process, is published online in Nature Research's Scientific Reports.

The debate on whether to shorten adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer from six to three months was debated in a special session at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid.

A team of scientists and engineers at The University of Texas at Austin has invented a powerful tool that rapidly and accurately identifies cancerous tissue during surgery, delivering results in about 10 seconds - more than 150 times as fast as existing technology. The MasSpec Pen is an innovative handheld instrument that gives surgeons precise diagnostic information about what tissue to cut or preserve, helping improve treatment and reduce the chances of cancer recurrence.

Medrobotics has announced today that world’s first robotic-assisted scarfree colorectal surgery with the Medrobotics Flex Robotic System was performed at George Washington University Hospital. The procedure to remove a suspected cancerous lesion from the rectum of an adult male, was carried out by Dr Vincent Obias, Director of Robotics and Professor of Colorectal Surgery at the George Washington University Hospital.

Outreach and notification to patients and physicians improved colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among patients who were not up-to-date or nonadherent with CRC screening, according to two studies published in JAMA.

Bowel cancer patients who are single or live in deprived areas are twice as likely to struggle to cope with their disease, compared to those in a relationship or from wealthy areas, according to research by the University of Southampton and Macmillan Cancer Support. The study, published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, found that bowel cancer patients living in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to have little or no confidence in managing their cancer (low 'self-efficacy') compared to those living in the most affluent areas (12 per cent vs six per cent).

Researchers in Georgia State University's Institute for Biomedical Sciences have received a four-year, US$1.4 million federal grant to study novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of intestinal inflammation.

A re-analysis of all-cause mortality in the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) evidence review for colorectal cancer screening found that flexible sigmoidoscopy reduces risk of mortality. These findings suggest that the USPSTF guidelines for colorectal cancer screening, which concluded that no colorectal cancer screening methods reduced all-cause mortality, could be reassessed. The paper, ‘Re-analysis of All-Cause Mortality in the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force 2016 Evidence Report on Colorectal Cancer Screening,’ is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a new system that can efficiently search through hundreds of hours of laparoscopic surgery videos for events and visual features that correspond to a few training examples. Although recordings of laparoscopic surgeries contain a wealth of information that could be useful for training both medical providers and computer systems that would aid with surgery, but because reviewing them is so time consuming, they mostly sit idle.

Research funded by the Bowel Diseases Research Foundation (BDRF) and spearheaded at the University of Manchester and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust Manchester, UK, has found that rates of lymph node spread are being overestimated, potentially leading to overtreatment of patients with radiotherapy.

Colorectal cancer mortality rates have increased in US adults under 55 since the mid-2000s after falling for decades, strengthening evidence that previously reported increases in incidence in this age group are not solely the result of more screening. The rise was confined to white individuals according to the report, ‘Colorectal Cancer Mortality Rates in Adults Aged 20 to 54 Years in the United States, 1970-2014’, which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Collaborators in a new US programme for hospitals designed to improve the recovery of surgical patients have identified their first set of evidence-based recommendations: a care plan for colon and rectal surgical procedures. This review of the best available scientific evidence for optimal care before, during, and after colorectal operations is published online on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website.

Researchers from Michigan Medicine and China have discovered that a type of bacterium is associated with the recurrence of colorectal cancer and poor outcomes. They found that Fusobacterium nucleatum in the gut can stop chemotherapy from causing apoptosis. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The two most widely used drugs to treat colorectal cancer act to either inhibit enzyme activity of cancer cells or arrest tumour cell growth, Fusobacterium nucleatum can make them ineffective.

Major Postoperative Complications Are a Risk Factor for Impaired Survival after CRS/HIPEC
Annals of Surgical Oncology

Postoperative complications in individuals aged 70 and over undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer
Colorectal Disease

Offering monetary incentives to patients eligible for a preventive colonoscopy screening more than doubled the rate of screening when compared to a simple emailed request, according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Screening colonoscopies improve the chance of early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer, but tens of millions of Americans who should have preventive screenings fail to get them.

A study by researchers form Rabin Medical Center and the Tel Aviv University in Israel has uncovered a link between being overweight or obese in adolescence and an increased risk of developing colon cancer in adulthood.

Published in the journal Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings revealed that obesity was also associated with an elevated risk of developing rectal cancer, and come at a time of growing concern about the impact of adolescent overweight and obesity on chronic disease later in life.

A select group of patients with rectal cancer who undergo chemotherapy and radiation may have low rates of recurrence and good survival rates regardless of whether they go on to have surgery.

The conventional treatment for people with cancer of the rectum that has spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes but not to other organs is chemoradiation to shrink the tumour, followed by surgery. But the surgery can result in complications, a permanent colostomy and poor quality of life.

Bowel-cancer screening in New Zealand will improve health cost effectively, according to University of Otago research published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. The researchers used computer modelling to investigate health gains and found that the programme is very cost-effective for Māori and non-Māori, and for men and women. However, it will not improve ethnic inequalities in health

The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons has published clinical practice guidelines for enhanced recovery after colon and rectal surgery. According to the organisations, these clinical practice guidelines represent a collaborative effort between the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and a continuation of their dedication to ensuring high-quality perioperative patient care.

The American Gastroenterological Association has published a White Paper that assessed the impact of mental and psychosocial factors on the care of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), to provide “gastroenterologists with information that would help them incorporate psychosocial aspects of IBD care into their practices.

Patients with common widespread forms of cancer could enjoy longer life expectancy and reduced risk of recurrence due to a multimodal optical spectroscopy probe developed by Canadian researchers. In 2015, scientists at Polytechnique Montréal, the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University, and the MUHC developed a hand-held Raman spectroscopy probe allowing surgeons to accurately detect virtually all brain cancer cells in real time during surgery.

Stryker has announced that it will acquire NOVADAQ Technologies for US$701 million with a net purchase price of US$654 million, reflecting net cash of approximately US$47 million. NOVADAQ is a leading developer of fluorescence imaging technology that provides surgeons with visualisation of blood flow in vessels, and related tissue perfusion in cardiac, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, plastic, microsurgical and reconstructive procedures.

Laparoscopic surgery for T4a tumours might be safe, whereas for T4b colon cancer requiring multivisceral resection (MVR) it should be applied with caution, these are the conclusion from a systematic review of literature by researchers from the Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Centre University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The paper, ‘Laparoscopic surgery for T4 colon cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis’, was published in Surgical Endoscopy.