Health
Colon Cancer Treatment Varies
Researchers in Toronto say there are two types of colon cancer and both behave differently. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine says researchers at the University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, looked at 650 different cases of colon cancer and discovered two distinct disease pathways.
Dr. Alan Bernstein of the Lunenfeld Research Institute says doctors currently treat all colorectal cancer patients as if they have the same disease. He says this study is the first to show different genetic pathways can lead to colon cancer, resulting in tumors that look the same, but act different.
The study says 17 percent of colon cancer patients have a genetic abnormality in their cancer cells called microsatellite instability or MSI. The other 83 percent have a different genetic mutation that leads to unstable chromosomes.
Patients with the MSI form of the disease have better outcomes and their tumors are less likely to spread, researchers suggest. This difference, they say, could lead to different treatment protocol for cancer patients in order to maximize chances of recovery.
For today's top stories and breaking news on a variety of topics, click to the ThirdAge Top 100.
Dr. Alan Bernstein of the Lunenfeld Research Institute says doctors currently treat all colorectal cancer patients as if they have the same disease. He says this study is the first to show different genetic pathways can lead to colon cancer, resulting in tumors that look the same, but act different.
The study says 17 percent of colon cancer patients have a genetic abnormality in their cancer cells called microsatellite instability or MSI. The other 83 percent have a different genetic mutation that leads to unstable chromosomes.
Patients with the MSI form of the disease have better outcomes and their tumors are less likely to spread, researchers suggest. This difference, they say, could lead to different treatment protocol for cancer patients in order to maximize chances of recovery.
For today's top stories and breaking news on a variety of topics, click to the ThirdAge Top 100.
