While smoking poses a health threat to both men and women, women require less tobacco exposure than men to have a significant increased risk for colorectal cancer, according to new research presented at the 73rd Annual ACG Scientific Meeting in Orlando.

New research presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando emphasizes the importance of adequate bowel preparation prior to colonoscopy, and highlights the remarkable effectiveness of colonoscopy in detecting and removing pre-cancerous polyps, particularly tiny, flat, potentially pre-cancerous growths in the colon known as "sessile serrated adenomas."

A screening program for colon cancer in patients starting ten years prior to Medicare eligibility, at age 55 instead of Medicare's 65, would save at least two dollars for every dollar spent, according to a new study presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando.

Researchers at NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) and Northwestern University have discovered that fiber optic technology can for the very first time effectively measure blood levels in the colonic lining (mucosa) in humans, thus having potential applications for analyzing risk of colon cancer.

Normal gut bacteria are thought to be involved in colon cancer but the exact mechanisms have remained unknown. Now, scientists from the USA have discovered that a molecule produced by a common gut bacterium activates signalling pathways that are associated with cancer cells. The research, published in the October issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, sheds light on the way gut bacteria can cause colon cancer.

More than 30 years ago, Alfred Knudson Jr., M.D., Ph.D., revolutionized the field of cancer genetics by showing that a person must lose both their paternal and maternal copies of a particular class of cancer-inhibiting genes, called tumor-suppressor genes, in order to develop cancer.

Demonstrating that despite the large number of cancer-causing genes already identified, many more remain to be found, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have linked a previously unsuspected gene, CDK8, to colon cancer.

The absence or inactivation of the RUNX3 gatekeeper gene paves the way for the growth and development of colon cancer, Singapore scientists report in the Sept. issue of the journal Cancer Cell. Previous studies have shown that RUNX3 plays a role in gastric, breast, lung and bladder cancers.

Researchers in the United Kingdom and Texas are reporting a new, more detailed explanation for the link between low folate intake and an increased risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have identified a set of genes in breast and colon cancers with a deadly combination of traditional mutations and "smothered" gene activity that may result in poor outcomes for patients.

Taking advantage of the fact that the intestines have a separate immune system from the rest of the body, scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have found a way to immunize mice against the development of metastatic disease.

Mice immunized with an intestinal protein developed fewer lung and liver metastases following injection with colon cancer cells than unvaccinated animals.