96% 5-year survival for Stage IIA

CessnaFlyer
CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I read that if there is no Allelic loss of chromosome 18p then the survival rate for Stage IIA colon cancer is 96%, as opposed to 54% if there is a loss. Does anyone know how they test for an allelic loss of chromosome 18p? Is it the same as the test for loss of expression, or for the P53 gene? This all gets very confusing at times, but I believe it's important for us to get as much information as possible about this monster we are fighting.

Comments

  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    I'm curious too
    If you find out please post the info. I am stage II a/b whatever the heck that is.

    -Pat
  • k1
    k1 Member Posts: 220 Member
    where did you read this?
    You can find out your 18Q loss status two ways right now...by participating in a clinical trial or by getting the new ONCO DX 12 Colon Cancer test that went on the market in late January.

    The problem is that right now no insurance company or Medicare will pay for the new Onco DX colon cancer test because it is too new. Are you rich and do you have deep pockets to pay for such a test yourself?

    The problem with getting the 18 q loss test in a clinical trial is you can only have that done if you join the trial right after surgery and agree to have chemo if the test comes back positive for 18 q loss or other factors that put you at high risk of recurrence.

    I would like to know where you read the information that the survival rates are 96 percent without 18 q loss and 54 percent with 18 q loss, because those are not the same numbers I got from my doctor and they may or may not be current. Could you provide the link to this information?

    K
  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    k1 said:

    where did you read this?
    You can find out your 18Q loss status two ways right now...by participating in a clinical trial or by getting the new ONCO DX 12 Colon Cancer test that went on the market in late January.

    The problem is that right now no insurance company or Medicare will pay for the new Onco DX colon cancer test because it is too new. Are you rich and do you have deep pockets to pay for such a test yourself?

    The problem with getting the 18 q loss test in a clinical trial is you can only have that done if you join the trial right after surgery and agree to have chemo if the test comes back positive for 18 q loss or other factors that put you at high risk of recurrence.

    I would like to know where you read the information that the survival rates are 96 percent without 18 q loss and 54 percent with 18 q loss, because those are not the same numbers I got from my doctor and they may or may not be current. Could you provide the link to this information?

    K

    Here's the link
    Following is a cut and past from the link shown on the bottom:
    “In particular, patients with stage II disease whose tumour had no chromosome 18q allelic loss demonstrated an excellent clinical outcome, with a 5-year disease-free survival rate of 96%. In contrast, the 5-year disease-free survival rate of patients with stage II disease and chromosome 18q allelic loss was only 54%.”
    http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2345718
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    Stats and myths

    Re:
    "evaluated in a series of 118 patients with curatively resected TNM stage II or stage III colon cancer. "

    "status provides relevant prognostic information in colon cancer and might be employed in the selection of patients for adjuvant therapy."

    From: http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2345718

    Well, "118 patients" doesn't quite do it for me. Especially if they're
    going to use the results from only 118 people to determine if I should
    get further therapy or not.

    Does it make any difference at all, anyway? How many have been
    told that no further concern is warranted, and have a reoccurrence?
    How many have undergone therapy continually, for "preventive"
    purposes, and end up with a "second cancer" due to the chemo?

    In my opinion, there should be more effort towards getting one's immune
    system back into full tilt, so it can fight what you can't see.
  • k1
    k1 Member Posts: 220 Member
    more up to date info
    I thought the stats you were quoting did not sound recent. The original article on this research into 18Q loss as a prognostic facotr was in NEJM in 1990s and indeed the article you are quoting is also from that era (1998).

    More recently an article available at C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalistion, is a report from the 2009 ASCO conference and it stated:

    "A marker previously identified with poor prognosis in stage II disease — loss of heterozygosity at 18q or 18qLOH — lost its prognostic value completely when analysed together with MSI in stage II and had no value in stage III."

    Research continues!


    K1