Colorectal cancer is a serious threat to women–more than 26,000 women died from it in 2007, according to the American Cancer Society.

Fortunately, preventive measures can greatly reduce your risk. For example, researchers found that women who reported walking between 1 and 1.9 hours per week were 31 percent less likely to develop colon cancer than women who did not walk (International Journal of Cancer, Dec. 15, 2007).

“We know that maintaining an active lifestyle is important to both colon and overall health,” says Felice Schnoll-Sussman, MD, director of research at The Jay Monahan for Gastrointestinal Health at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

Exercise for prevention

Any amount of activity is good, but more is better–in the study, women who got more than four hours of moderate to vigorous exercise per week had a 40 percent lower risk of colon cancer compared to women who got less than one hour of exercise per week.

How does exercise improve colon health?

“We do not yet understand clearly why an active lifestyle reduces the risk of colorectal cancer. Proposed mechanisms include a role in reducing obesity, reducing stool transit time, decreasing exposure of the colon to carcinogens, reducing insulin resistance, and influencing immune function,” says Dr. Schnoll-Sussman.

Screening options

Colon cancer is highly preventable–and highly curable–when recommended screenings are performed.

“It’s very important to follow screening recommendations, because early colorectal cancer usually causes no symptoms at all,” says Dr. Schnoll-Sussman.

The American Cancer Society, in collaboration with the U.S. MultiSociety Task Force and American College of Radiology, issued updated colorectal cancer screening guidelines in March 2008. For the first time, screening tests are grouped into two categories: those that primarily detect cancer early and those that detect both cancer and pre-cancerous polyps. The guidelines include a strong emphasis on prevention.

Tests that detect both pre-cancerous polyps and cancer include colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, double-contrast barium enema, and computerized tomographic colonography (also known as virtual colonoscopy). Tests that primarily detect cancer early are stool tests, including guaiac-based and immunochemical-based fecal occult blood tests (gFOBT & FIT), and stool DNA tests (sDNA).

A colonoscopy, during which a doctor examines the entire length of the colon and rectum with a flexible, lighted tube, is the most comprehensive of the screening options–it allows for both the detection and removal of polyps in one exam.

For those with an average risk, colorectal cancer screening should begin at age 50. Those with certain risk factors, such as a personal or family history of colorectal polyps or cancer, need to talk to their doctor about getting screened at a younger age and at more frequent intervals.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

* Consult your doctor about an exercise regimen that is right for you. Thirty minutes of exercise five or more days a week may be beneficial for colon health.

* Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in red and processed meats.

* For more on colorectal cancer screening options, visit the American Cancer Society’s Web site, www.cancer.org.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Belvoir Media Group, LLC
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2007) — Scientists have known which genes are linked to inflammation, but now researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have organized this information to develop a powerful tool to aid investigators in studying the genetics of inflammatory diseases.

Using complex web-based software called Ingenuity Pathway Analysis®, the researchers were able to systematically map out pathways, or chains of genes, and subpathways that contribute to various aspects of inflammation.

“We basically organized the inflammation-associated genes in a systematic way,” said Matthew Loza, Ph.D., of the Center for Human Genomics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and lead author of the study. “Before, a random list of genes involved in inflammation was all you had. We started with that same list, but then built these networks to bring all these different genes together.”

The study, which was recently published by the Public Library of Science in its online journal PLoS One, has also led to the development of two customized panels for analyzing genetic variations in the inflammation pathways — one for European and one for African descent populations. In a laboratory, these panels are analyzed using special laboratory equipment and computer systems. Researchers can obtain the custom inflammation panel through Affymetrix Corporation.

“This is so significant because inflammation is a very hot topic, and many research groups want to study it,” said Bao-Li Chang, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest and senior author for the study. “We have provided researchers with the tool to effectively and efficiently accomplish their goals.”

Inflammation is the immune system’s response to pathogens and tissue damage. Chronic inflammation is linked to numerous diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and many cancers.

This study is part of a larger study through the Women’s Health Initiative that explores the role of inflammation in colon, breast and lung cancer. It’s sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Co-researchers were Charles McCall, M.D., and Jianfeng Xu, Dr. P.H., of Wake Forest, Liwu Li, Ph.D., of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and William Isaacs, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions.