University of Florida researchers have grown tumors in mice using cells from inflamed but noncancerous colon tissue taken from human patients, a finding that sheds new light on colon cancer and how it might be prevented. Scientists observed that cancer stem cells taken from the gastrointestinal system in patients with a chronic digestive disease called ulcerative colitis will transform into cancerous tumors in mice.

Unexpectedly, inflammation markers do not appear to be involved with the chemopreventative effect of aspirin on colorectal adenomas, according to a brief communication published online October 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Aspirin has been shown to prevent the recurrence of colorectal polyps, but it’s not clear how it works.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM: SPPI), a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology, announced that it received a Complete Response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for FUSILEV® (levoleucovorin) for injection for treatment of patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, leading to over 50,000 fatalities every year. But it can be prevented with early screening using a procedure called a colonoscopy. Now researchers from North Carolina State University, Mayo Clinic and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) have created a tool to help colonoscopy facilities operate more efficiently, ultimately lowering costs and leading to shorter waiting times for patients.

Immunology experts in the US and China have discovered human stem cells that “fool” the immune system may provide a vaccination for colon cancer. The study was led by Dr. Bei Liu and Dr. Zihai Li in collaboration with stem cell expert Dr. Renhe Xu at the University of Connecticut Stem Cell Institute and is to be published in the journal Stem Cells.

The first results from the MRC COIN trial, the largest trial in advanced bowel cancer carried out to date, will be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute annual conference in Birmingham on 6 October. The results provide more information about the potential effect different treatment options can have and so will help patients and clinicians to make treatment decisions.

The first results from the MRC COIN trial, the largest trial in advanced bowel cancer carried out to date, will be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute annual conference in Birmingham on 6 October. The results provide more information about the potential effect different treatment options can have and so will help patients and clinicians to make treatment decisions.

The introduction of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) has resulted in earlier detection of cases of colorectal cancer, which is expected to increase survival rates, according to a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia. The NBCSP was launched in May 2006 and currently offers faecal occult blood testing to all Australians aged 50, 55 or 65 years of age.

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 new national research and training grants totaling $45,097,000 to 61 institutions nationwide in the second of two grants cycles for 2009. The grants go into effect beginning January 1, 2010.

MabCure, Inc. (”MabCure”), a biotechnology company that has developed a series of highly specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to combat various types of cancers, has reached another development milestone, with the creation of its MAbs against Colorectal Cancer (CRC).