Chemoprevention

At my oncologist meeting we had a long discussion about this company and their approach to cancer recurrence issues;

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2562024

http://www.genomeweb.com/biotechtransferweek/ua-uc-irvine-researchers-form-company-further-develop-colon-cancer-chemopreventi?page=show
(this one you must register to read the article)

What is the amazing stat is the 95% over 3 year reduction in recurrence with no side effects of polyps only. While colonoscopies do a great job of getting polyps, perhaps this study leads to possibilities of use in trials. There was some discussion about developing clinical trials for individuals to possibly delay recurrences in metastatic disease. Essentially this comes out of the old issue of aspirin and colon cancer ( large dosages seem to make a difference but it must be for a long time and at high dosages that create other problems) and then looking at the addition of two new drugs ( difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and sulindac ) that have been used extensively for other purposes. I often post medical studies and do not leave much discussion as (1) I hate typing a lot and (2) you have to be very precise in what you say. My degree is in biochem from UCSB and I teach science so I have a background in the sciences and realize that the last 3 posts (Australian science, PARC and chemoprevention) do not have benefits that today someone can get but they provide a pathway and a feeling of hope. I love researchers who try these out and am interested when oncs know about these studies.

Chip