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Awareness weeks guide

Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

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 (5,350 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. 299 Australians will be diagnosed with bowel cancer this week (15,531 people a year). Bowel Cancer Australia

 

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Diagnosis

General

Screening

Risks

Treatment

Cochrane Library

Clinical resources

Patient resources

Podcasts

Articles

Research

Screening and Prevention

Treatment

E-journals

E-Books

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Articles

Research

“Too young to have this kind of diagnosis”: A qualitative exploration of younger adults' experiences of colorectal cancer diagnosis
Younger adults with Colorectal cancer (CRC) make decisions in the context of unique considerations, adapting to reduce time to diagnosis, with decisions complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater support from health care providers/systems in the diagnostic period may improve timeliness of CRC diagnosis and outcomes in younger adults. Psycho-oncology 2 May 2024

Quality of life in permanent ostomates – what really matters to them?
While stoma-specific QoL is associated with stoma satisfaction, individual QoL aspects impact differently on satisfaction in permanent colostomy patients. These findings may help identify focus areas for peri-operative counselling for clinicians and stomal therapists, highlight the importance of tailored multidisciplinary care in ostomates and suggests that a stoma type-specific Stoma-QoL questionnaire is required. ANZ journal of surgery 17 May 2024

Machine learning prediction model for postoperative ileus following colorectal surgery
Multilayer perceptron (MLP) outperformed other models in predicting Postoperative ileus (POI). Machine learning can provide valuable insights into the importance and ranking of specific predictive variables for POI. Further research into the predictive value of preoperative sarcopenia for POI is required. ANZ journal of surgery 2 May 2024

Functional outcomes following anterior resection for colorectal cancer: a needs assessment and proposal of a nurse-led remote management algorithm
This study highlights that with the current remote follow-up system focused on cancer outcomes a significant proportion of patients with LARS are overlooked, resulting in the underutilization of relevant health professionals and management options. The authors propose a nurse-led management algorithm to address this issue while still minimizing surgical outpatient load. ANZ journal of surgery 28 April 2024

Artificial intelligence measured 3D body composition to predict pathological response in rectal cancer patients
This is the first study in the literature utilizing artificial intelligence (AI)-measured 3D Body composition in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients to assess their impact on pathological response. skeletal muscle (SM) volume and age were positive predictors of pathological complete response (pCR) disease in both male and female patients following neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) for LARC. Future studies investigating the impact of body composition on clinical outcomes and patients on other neoadjuvant regimens such as TNT are potential avenues for further research. ANZ journal of surgery 8 March 2024

Does virtual reality in the preoperative setting for colorectal cancer surgery improve patient understanding? A randomized pilot study
VR was well tolerated and patients enjoyed using the technology. Its use in an outpatient clinic setting for elective colorectal cancer surgery is feasible. Improvement in patient understanding using VR compared to standard consent processes in colorectal surgery should be tested in a statistically powered, high quality study design. ANZ journal of surgery 22 November 2023

Colorectal adenomatous and serrated polyps in rural South Australia: who, why, what and where?
This study has shown variation in adenoma and serrated polyp detection rates (ADR and SPDR) depending on age, gender and indication for colonoscopy. This variation will help further develop key performance indicators in colonoscopy. The high ADR and SPDR in patients aged 40–49 years old whom underwent colonoscopy for positive faecal occult blood may support lowering the age of commencement of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in Australia. ANZ journal of surgery 8 September 2024

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Screening and prevention

National screening for colorectal cancer is associated with stage shift to earlier diagnosis
Polypectomy and colonoscopy rates increased after the introduction of the National Bowel Cancer screening program. There was a clinically significant shift to earlier colorectal cancer (CRC) stage which manifested 5 years after its implementation. ANZ journal of surgery 30 March 2024

Improving concordance between clinicians with Australian guidelines for bowel cancer prevention using a digital application: Randomized controlled crossover study
Digital applications (DAs) can significantly improve the adoption of complex Australian bowel cancer prevention guidelines. As screening and surveillance guidelines become increasingly complex and personalized, these tools will be crucial to help clinicians accurately determine the most appropriate recommendations for their patients. Additional research to understand why some practitioners perform worse with DAs is required. Further improvements in application usability may optimize guideline concordance further. JMIR cancer 9 March 2023

Realized impact of COVID-19 related disruptions on the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
This study presents the most comprehensive analysis of the realized impact of COVID-19 on the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP). Catch-up screening would be best targeted at Australians from rural and lower socioeconomic areas where participation remains low. Streamlined referral pathways and additional colonoscopy provisioning is required as less than two thirds of screen positive patients receive a colonoscopy within the recommended 120 days. ANZ journal of surgery 12 February 2024

Measuring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on colorectal cancer presentation: a retrospective comparative study
Disruptions in patient screening, diagnosis and management from elective surgery restrictions and patient hesitancy may not have resulted in observed changes to surgical volume, however, it may have contributed to an increase in Stages II and III colorectal cancer during COVID-19. ANZ journal of surgery 17 October 2023

Increasing bowel cancer screening using SMS in general practice: the SMARTscreen cluster randomised trial
The SMS intervention increased National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) kit return in 50–60-year-old patients in general practice. This finding informed a larger trial — SMARTERscreen — to test this intervention in a broader Australian population. British journal of clinical practice 27 March 2024

Should I take aspirin? A qualitative study on the implementation of a decision aid on taking aspirin for bowel cancer prevention
Australian guidelines recommend 50–70 years consider taking aspirin to reduce their bowel cancer risk. The authors trialled a decision aid in general practice to facilitate the implementation of these guidelines into clinical practice. This publication reports on the qualitative results from the process evaluation of the trial. They aimed to explore general practitioners’ (GPs) and their patients’ approach to shared decision-making (SDM) about taking aspirin to prevent bowel cancer and how the decision aids were used in practice. Family medicine and community health 18 December 2023

Spatial variability in socio-demographic factors affecting participation in the Australian national bowel cancer screening program
From a public health perspective, addressing shortfalls in bowel cancer screening participation is an important priority. In order to understand differences in participation rates it is important to consider both socio-demographic factors as well as the geographic or spatial distribution of these factors. Public health in practice 22 November 2023

Comparing a fecal immunochemical test and circulating tumor DNA blood test for colorectal cancer screening adherence
This study aimed to investigate whether a circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) blood test improved CRC screening re-participation when compared with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and to define the predictors of sustained CRC screening in an Australian population. Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology 2 March 2024

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Treatment

Comparing outcomes and cost in surgery versus watch & wait surveillance of patients with rectal cancer post neoadjuvant long course chemoradiotherapy
This study found better oncological outcomes in the OT group, whilst the W&W group had reduced morbidity and acute bed days. The cost of wait and watch was approximately two-thirds that of operative treatment, even accounting for salvage procedures for local regrowth. ANZ journal of surgery 15 March 2024

Surgical and survival outcomes of early-onset colorectal cancer patients: a single-centre descriptive Australian study
Stoma formation, pelvic exenteration (PE) and cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) and minor postoperative complications were common in this Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) cohort. Despite this, the 5-year absolute survival rate was acceptable. Thus, an aggressive surgical approach in EOCRC patients at a quaternary referral centre may be feasible at the cost of greater postoperative morbidity. This information is imperative in the surgical consent and preoperative counselling of EOCRC patients and highlights the need for further research to assess the postoperative functional outcomes and quality of life of EOCRC patients. ANZ journal of surgery 12 March 2024

The association of body composition on chemotherapy toxicities in non-metastatic colorectal cancer patients: a systematic review
Low skeletal muscle is associated with chemotherapy toxicities in non-metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). However, quality evidence on the role of adiposity is limited and heterogeneous. More studies are needed to confirm these associations with an emphasis on a more coherent body composition definition and an approach to its assessment, especially regarding sarcopenia. ANZ journal of surgery 7 December 2023

Conversational artificial intelligence (chatGPT™) in the management of complex colorectal cancer patients: early experience
This study shows a high concordance rate of the chatGPT™'s recommendations with that given by the multidisciplinary tumor (MDT) in the management of complex colorectal patients. This will need to be verified in a larger prospective study. ANZ journal of surgery 31 October 2023

Adjuvant chemotherapy improves survival amongst octogenarians following resection of colorectal adenocarcinoma
Octogenarians undergoing treatment for colorectal cancer have similar cancer-specific survival and recurrence-free survival to non-octogenarians. This study demonstrates a survival benefit when adjuvant therapy is provided to octogenarians, despite only half of this cohort receiving therapy compared to their younger peers. Further research into adjuvant therapy with surgical resection for CRC in older Australians is required. ANZ journal of surgery 29 September 2023

Risk factors, histopathological landscape, biomarkers, treatment patterns and survival of early-onset colorectal cancer: A narrative review
Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) incidence has increased in most Western countries over the last decade, with Australia at the forefront. Recent literature has thus focused on characterizing EOCRC from later-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC). Earlier exposure to modifiable risk factors resulting in gut dysbiosis has been linked with EOCRC development. EOCRCs have more aggressive histopathological features with somatic mutations resulting in pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironments. There is a tendency to treat EOCRCs with multimodal chemotherapeutic regimens and more extensive surgery than LOCRCs with conflicting postoperative outcomes and survival data. Current research is limited by a lack of Australasian studies, retrospective study designs, and heterogeneous definitions of EOCRC. Future research should address these and focus on investigating the role of immunotherapies, establishing minimally invasive diagnostic biomarkers and nomograms, and evaluating the survival and functional outcomes of EOCRC. Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology  22 May 2024

Colorectal cancer treatment outcomes during the pandemic: Our experience of COVID-19 at a tertiary referral center
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to major shifts in the management of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aims to identify the impact and early outcomes of COVID-19 following CRC management at a tertiary referral center in Victoria, Australia. Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology  23 February 2024

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E-Journals

A sample of the journals the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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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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