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Spotlight on... awareness weeks

Awareness weeks guide

Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

June 2023

June is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - Bowel Cancer Australia's signature event to raise awareness of Australia's second deadliest cancer and funds for the leading community-funded charity dedicated to prevention, early diagnosis, research, quality treatment and care, so everyone affected by bowel cancer can live their best life. Bowel cancer claims the lives of 103 Australians every week (5,354 people a year) - but it's one of the most treatable types of cancer when detected early. While the risk of bowel cancer increases significantly with age, the disease doesn't discriminate, affecting people of all ages. 300 Australians will be diagnosed with bowel cancer this week (15,610 people a year). Bowel Cancer Australia

National Bowel Cancer Screening Program monitoring report 2023

UpToDate

Cochrane Library

Articles

Screening

Research

Risks

Treatment

E-books

E-journals

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Cochrane Library

Prehabilitation versus no prehabilitation to improve functional capacity, reduce postoperative complications and improve quality of life in colorectal cancer surgery
Prehabilitation may result in an improved functional capacity, determined with the 6‐minute walk test both preoperatively and postoperatively. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews – Intervention 10 May 2023

Guaiac‐based faecal occult blood tests versus faecal immunochemical tests for colorectal cancer screening in average‐risk individuals
Faecal immunochemical tests (FITs) are superior to guaiac‐based faecal occult blood tests (gFOBTs) in detecting advanced neoplasia (AN) and colorectal cancer (CRC) in average‐risk individuals. Specificity of both tests was similar in "reference standard: all" studies, whereas specificity was significantly higher for gFOBTs than FITs in "reference standard: positive" studies. However, at pre‐specified specificities, the sensitivity of FITs was significantly higher than gFOBTs. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews – Diagnostic 6 June 2022

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Articles

Screening

Long-term benefits for lower socioeconomic groups by improving bowel screening participation in South Australia: A modelling study
Inequalities were evident in CRC cases and deaths, as well as adenomas and cancers that could be detected earlier. Implementing programs to increase screening uptake and follow-up tests for lower socioeconomic groups is critical to improve the health of these priority population groups. Plos one 21 December 2022

Engaging lower screening groups: a field experiment to evaluate the impact of a multi-wave national campaign on participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
The campaign increased participation, especially among those who were younger and never previously screened—key groups to recruit given reparticipation rates of over 80%. Ongoing investment in national integrated media campaigns of sufficient duration and intensity can increase bowel cancer screening and ultimately save lives. BMJ open 15 March 2023

Improving colonoscopy prioritisation and promoting the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program: keys to reducing bowel cancer burden

  • Concerns about colonoscopy capacity and wait times have hampered the promotion of Australia’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP)
  • New research suggests the program only contributes 10–14% of Medicare-funded colonoscopies
  • The authors argue that to reduce wait times and promote the NBCSP, we need to promote clinical guidelines and reduce inappropriate use of colonoscopy for primary screening
  • Programs such as the Direct Access Colonoscopy initiative for priority patients are also key to the success of the NBCSP

Public health research & practice 15 March 2023

The short to medium term benefits of the Australian colorectal cancer screening program
This analysis of Binational Colorectal Cancer Audit (BCCA) data indicates that, in addition to the lower long term mortality associated with the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) short term post‐operative benefits are also evident that should be taken into account when promoting the program. This study reinforces calls to improve participation rates in the national screening program by eligible participants to optimise the value of this critically important initiative. MJA 7 December 2020

The influence of the surveillance time interval on the risk of advanced neoplasia after non‐advanced adenoma removal
Increasing the surveillance colonoscopy interval beyond five years after removal of non‐advanced adenoma increases the risk of detection of advanced neoplasia at follow‐up colonoscopy. MJA 30 August 2021

Comparison of colonic neoplasia detection rates in patients screened inside and outside the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
The authors found that the incidence and detection rates of colorectal neoplasia in people aged 50–74 years were similar for people with positive results for National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP)  or community‐initiated faecal immunochemical test (FIT). The large population in our study means that it provides colonoscopy providers strong evidence that evaluation should be performed equally promptly for patients with positive results from NBSCP and community‐initiated FITs. MJA 2 March 2020

Is surveillance colonoscopy necessary for all patients with bowel polyps?
What you need to know

  • Surveillance colonoscopy is advised in some patients who have had bowel polyps detected and removed to prevent future development of bowel cancer
  • There is a lack of data on long term bowel cancer risk after polypectomy and uncertainty remains regarding whether certain patients with polyps require surveillance (such as those with multiple diminutive (≤5 mm) adenomas)
  • Surveillance colonoscopy is burdensome on endoscopy services and carries a small risk (<0.5%) of serious complications, including bowel perforation and severe bleeding

BMJ 15 May 2020

Evaluating changes to home bowel cancer screening kits: an end-user perspective study
These findings highlight multiple ways in which bowel cancer screening kits can be changed to increase usability for invitees of national bowel cancer screening programs. Findings have implications for all screening programs that use immunochemical-based bowel cancer screening kits.  Cancer, causes and control 21 April 2023 

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Research

Long-term quality of life and functional outcome of patients with rectal cancer following a watch-and-wait approach
Results of this study suggest that patients with rectal cancer who were observed by a watch-and-wait approach had good quality of life, with some patients reporting bowel and sexual dysfunction. Quality of life and functional outcome deteriorated when patients required surgery. These data will be useful in daily care to counsel patients on what to expect from a watch-and-wait approach. JAMA 29 March 2023

Association of life expectancy with surveillance colonoscopy findings and follow-up recommendations in older adults
In this cohort study, the likelihood of finding advanced polyps and CRC on surveillance colonoscopy was low regardless of life expectancy. Despite this observation, 58.1% of older adults with less than 5 years’ life expectancy were recommended to return for future surveillance colonoscopy. These data may help refine decision-making about pursuing or stopping surveillance colonoscopy in older adults with a history of polyps. JAMA 13 March 2023

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Risks

Evaluation of birth by Cesarean delivery and development of early-onset colorectal cancer
In this study, females born by cesarean delivery had greater odds of early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC), suggesting that early-life gut dysbiosis may contribute to early-onset CRC in females. JAMA 27 April 2023

Analysis of body mass index in early and middle adulthood and estimated risk of Gastrointestinal Cancer
In this secondary analysis of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO Cancer Screening Trial), overweight and obese body mass index (BMI) in early and middle adulthood was associated with an elevated risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and non-colorectal gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The results of the current study prompt further exploration into the mechanistic role of obese BMI in carcinogenesis. JAMA 10 May 2023

Risk of cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and keys for patient management
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs) are increasingly prevalent pathologies due to the rise in incidence in some geographic areas and the improvement in prognosis with the development of new therapeutic targets. The increasing age of the IBD population is associated with greater comorbidity, including intestinal and extra-intestinal cancer. The current or previous presence of cancer makes the treatment of both IBD and cancer challenging. In this review, we summarize the evidence on IBD cancer risk related to chronic inflammation and immunosuppressive therapy, as well as a general approach to the management of patients with IBD and cancer. Cancers 31 January 2023

People with early-onset colorectal cancer describe primary care barriers to timely diagnosis: a mixed-methods study of web-based patient reports in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand
Wider dissemination of information about early-onset colorectal cancer at primary care level is imperative given the increasing incidence of the disease, the frequency of diagnostic delay, the rates of late-stage diagnosis and the dissatisfaction with patient experience reported by patients whose diagnosis is delayed. Patient education about diagnostic protocols may help to pre-empt or resolve tensions between GPs’ enactment of value-based care and patients’ concerns about cancer. The challenges of diagnosing early-onset colorectal cancer are significant and will become more pressing for GPs, who will usually be the first point of access to a health system for this growing patient population. BMC primary care 14 January 2023

Increased breast and colorectal cancer risk in Type 2 Diabetes: Awareness among adults with and without Diabetes and information provision on Diabetes websites
There is low public awareness that T2DM increases the risk of developing breast and bowel cancers, even among people with T2DM, which may be partly due to limited information provision regarding T2DM-increased cancer risk from diabetes care providers and organizations. Annals of behavioral medicine 9 March 2023

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Treatment

Regorafenib, Ipilimumab, and Nivolumab for patients with Microsatellite stable colorectal cancer and disease progression with prior chemotherapy: A phase 1 nonrandomized clinical trial
Results of this nonrandomized clinical trial suggest that regorafenib, ipilimumab, and nivolumab (RIN) at the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) demonstrated interesting clinical activity in patients with advanced microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer without liver metastases. These findings should be confirmed in randomized clinical trials. JAMA 9 March 2023

Preoperative treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer
In patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who were eligible for sphincter-sparing surgery, preoperative FOLFOX was noninferior to preoperative chemoradiotherapy with respect to disease-free survival. NEJM 4 June 2023

Supportive care interventions for managing gastrointestinal symptoms following treatment for colorectal cancer: a systematic review
Despite a high prevalence and burden of GI symptoms post-treatment, there is limited evidence for supportive care interventions to help manage or alleviate these symptoms. More, large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to identify effective interventions for managing GI symptoms that occur post-treatment. Journal of cancer survivorship 6 June 2023

How consequences of colorectal cancer treatment are managed: a qualitative study of stakeholder experiences about supportive care and current practices
To improve colorectal cancer (CRC) survivor lives posttreatment, routine assessment of consequences of treatment, individualised care planning involving relevant healthcare professionals, access to supportive care when needed, and improved information provision and engagement of a range of health professionals in follow-up care are needed. Supportive care in cancer 11 April 2023

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E-books

This is just a sample of the e-books the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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E-Journals

This is just a sample of the journals the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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