Patients with rectal cancer whose disease is downstaged with neoadjuvant radiation therapy have better survival than their peers who fail to respond to this modality, according to a report in the Archives of Surgery for February. Reuters Health Information
When surgeons need to occlude hepatic blood flow, intermittent ischemic periods can be extended to 30 minutes (as opposed to 15 minutes) without worsening hepatocellular injury, according to results from a randomized trial. Reuters Health Information
An improved and simplified version of a first generation stool DNA test shows considerable efficacy in detection of colorectal cancer, according to North American researchers. Reuters Health Information
Interleukin (IL)-22, which is proinflammatory in some conditions, has a protective role in a murine model of inflammatory bowel disease, with IL-22 deficient mice having more severe forms of the disease. Reuters Health Information
Fernando Velayos, MD, MPH, addresses issues in the management of a 40-year-old patient with long-standing ulcerative colitis, with a view toward strategies for preventing CRC. Medscape Gastroenterology
The combination of an investigational polymerase inhibitor plus a novel protease inhibitor shows promise in the treatment of chronic HCV infection without the use of interferon. Medscape Medical News
