New Drug Brings Hope for Colon Cancer

By Jewel Johl, MD

March is colorectal cancer awareness month and a reminder to patients aged 50 and older to be screened either through occult blood test or colonoscopy. Screening for colorectal cancer can identify premalignant lesions and detect early stage cancer.

Approximately 150,000 new cases of large bowel cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, of which 108,000 are colon cancers and the remainder rectal cancers. Annually, approximately 50,000 Americans die of colorectal cancer.  It is the second leading cause of cancer death, and accounts for approximately 9 percent of cancer deaths overall. 

Several new drugs have been approved for metastatic colorectal cancer and have the potential to extend survival and improve patient quality of life.  Some of these drugs work in a unique, biological way.  While some are approved to be given in combination with chemotherapy, one is approved to be given by itself to patients who have advanced metastatic colorectal cancer and have run out of standard chemotherapy options. 

While new drugs continue to give hope to colorectal cancer patients, early detection is still critically important to patient’s survival.  Screening for colorectal cancer can identify premalignant lesions and detect early stage cancer. There are several tests that are available for colorectal cancer screening. While stool occult blood test can detect cancer at an early stage, colonoscopy has the potential to prevent cancer by detecting polyps that can be removed prior to malignant transformation. Screening needs to start even earlier for patients with hereditary forms of colon cancer (HNPCC) or when a strong genetic predisposition is suspected.

Jewel Johl, M.D., a Medical Oncologist with Diablo Valley Oncology. One of his specialties is treating colorectal cancer.  He practices at the California Cancer and Research Institute in Pleasant Hill and at a satellite office in Brentwood.  For more information, call 925-677-5041.