Colorectal Cancer Research

Question: colorectal cancer in newfoundland? I did some research and i read that newfoundland has this highest rate of colorectal cancer in north america. Medical websites say it is from mutated DNA genes that are hereditary. Is this the medical way of saying they are humping their brothers and sisters? ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Answer: THAT IS TOO BAD!

Question: Colorectal Cancer Patient Has Bleeding? WARNING -- LOTS OF DETAIL -- MAY UPSET SOME Someone I know has advanced colorectal cancer. The tumor perforated his intestines recently. As a result, he's had a colostemy and is currently being treated with chemo. He has no history of hemmrhoids. Since the perforated intestine/colostemy, he's had considerable rectal bleeding, apparently of sufficient volume to be compared to the first day or two of a menstrual cycle. The bleeding has not increased/decreased since the chemo began a couple of weeks ago. His doctor is out of town, the on call physician won't address the issue, and we've not found much online to tell us why this could be. Again, it's not hemmhroids and since he has the colostemy, shouldn't be anything related to his intestines. Furthermore, we've read that tumors don't bleed so it shouldn't be that either. Does anyone have any ideas on possibilities/places to research? Thank you.

Answer: First of all - tumors do bleed! Before we had colonoscopy, the screening test for colon cancer was to look for blood in the stool. Second - can you tell me about the blood? Is it bright red or black? Is it in the colostomy bag or around the anus? Third - how long ago was the surgery? Last thing to mention, he's on chemo so it's likely that his platelets are not functioning very well. This means that he may bleed from surfaces that normally wouldn't. Honestly, he should go to the hospital to have blood work done to check his platelets and some tests for bleeding (PT, PTT)

Question: How can I assess the quality of research papers/studies ? I need to discuss the strengths and limitations of different epidemiological studies that have been employed to investigate the association between dietary fibre intake and colorectal cancer. I really need a few pointers!

Answer: You need to refeer to good journals, with an Impact factor higher than 6-7 The best gastroenterology journal is called (guess?) Gastroenterology http://www.gastrojournal.org/ But Gut is also good. An easy way of doing it, is to go to "Pubmed" (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi) and type your key words and see what comes up! I work in a Gastro lab. If you need any leading papers, I might be able to send them to you. Good luck

Question: i'm working on a research proposal and i could really use some help!!? the task of this paper is to propose a brief research project that aims to investigate the acceptibility of a population-based screening test of colorectal cancer (we actually don't have to do the research but they want to see how well we can write research proposals) could a possible research question be whether people approve of the new intervention and how they respond to it? (is that brief enough?) with defining concepts, does that mean defining what it means to 'approve'? ie if people approve of a screening test they are more likley to use it. thus we can measure the prevalance of people who have used it in the past? and what colorectal cancer screening we choose to look at since there are more than one option? i have two possible hypotheses. 1) people who are more informed by the health care providers are more likely to use and adhere to the new intervention more than will people who are less informed. (quantative) how do you write a hypothesis for a qualatative research? is people who have postive attitudes towards the new intervention are more likley to use it than will people who have negative attitudes towards it? thanks!!! hmm yeah i'm a bit stuck on the term 'approve' too. would it be better to use the word 'accept'? any suggestions?!

Answer: I'm probably not qualified to tell you how to write a hypothesis, but I think your concept is sound. That is, informed people are more likely to take advantage of the screening than uninformed. I'm not sure that you can conclude that people who approve of screening have used it in the past. Good luck with your proposal.

Question: Is it safe to eat steak whose doneness is other than well done? I always choose well done when I eat steaks. Unfortunately, a large study by the National Institutes of Health, published in the journal Cancer Research, found that well-done red meat was associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenoma, the precursor lesion to colorectal cancer. So, I wish to eat the medium ones one day. However, I think it’s best to taste the medium well first. I have heard that: - Rare steak is the steak for the true carnivore who wants meat, but gets it cooked (as little as possible) to be polite - Medium rare is the recommended level of doneness. Ask any chef how they like their steak and they'll say medium rare - Medium; if you are grilling for a large group of people this is the best steak to please most everyone - Medium well; it is the steak for the squeamish who don't want color in their meat - Well done; most people will tell you that this is the steak for people who don't like steak. While there is some truth to that, it is a popular way to get a steak so any good grill needs to know how to do it. Despite those facts above, my major concern is that undercooked meat might harbor diseases. For those who eat pork, since pigs are known to be the carriers of various parasitic worms, do you think it is safe to eat pork whose doneness is not well done?

Answer: Eating rare steak will not cause food poisoning if kitchen utensils used to cook it are kept clean, it is claimed. University of Nottingham scientists spiked steak samples with E.coli bacteria, then cooked them rare. The bacteria only survived where the steaks were touched by utensils that were not cleaned after being used to handle raw meat, researchers found. The study dispels the myth that eating rare steak is in itself unsafe, the Meat and Livestock Commission said. Recontamination The tests, carried out on behalf of the commission, were designed to establish once and for all whether serving rare steak posed a health risk. To determine whether food poisoning bacteria could survive the cooking process, steak samples taken from separate fillets were spiked with E.coli. The bacteria, which are known to die at high temperatures, were still present in the samples even after cooking. But it was found that the cells' survival was caused by recontamination of the steaks during cooking, via the tongs used to turn them. Bacteria such as E.coli can cause food poisoning Scientists then spiked more steaks and cooked them - but sterilised the tongs in ethanol between turns to ensure that the tongs could not recontaminate the meat. This time, no E.coli was detected. The study concluded that rare steak can be produced safely provided that food poisoning bacteria are not reintroduced by contaminated utensils. The Meat and Livestock Commission said there should no longer be any doubt over the safety of rare steak - a claim supported by advice issued by the Food Standards Agency. Its guidelines state that whole cuts of meat, such as steaks, cutlets and joints, are only ever contaminated by bacteria on the outside of the meat, which are destroyed during cooking even if the middle of the meat is pink, or rare. In the case of minced-meat products such as burgers and sausages, bacteria are spread throughout the product during manufacture. These products should be cooked until they are piping hot throughout, with no pink meat left and any juices running clear, it says. The agency also stresses the importance of keeping utensils clean while cooking any type of meat, to ensure that bacteria are not spread from raw to cooked foods.

Question: Varying Stools in Teen? Hi. I'm 15 and male and just a bit concerned. i started having constipation in december and I wasn't very concerned because I have had bouts of it before and it resolved itself quickly. Then, I started having diarrhea off and on once, twice a week. At the end of this July, I started having constipation and bloody diarrhea and I went to the doctor and he said that I had a hemorrhoid and it resolved itself. Three weeks ago I started having red diarrhea again and then a new symptom-black tarry stool. Both of these occur very sparingly but I researched these online and apparently it can be caused by ibuprofen, which I take often. I go to the doctor next Friday and I intend on telling him but should I be concerned in the meantime? Could I have a Gi ulcer or something worse like colorectal cancer? i am very healthy and there isn't any family history of it but I'm very concerned. Any advice?

Answer: If you have blood in the stool JF, than by all means, go to the doctor.

Question: Is it safe to eat steak whose doneness is other than well done? I always choose well done when I eat steaks. Unfortunately, a large study by the National Institutes of Health, published in the journal Cancer Research, found that well-done red meat was associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenoma, the precursor lesion to colorectal cancer. So, I wish to eat the medium ones one day. However, I think it’s best to taste the medium well first. I have heard that: - Rare steak is the steak for the true carnivore who wants meat, but gets it cooked (as little as possible) to be polite - Medium rare is the recommended level of doneness. Ask any chef how they like their steak and they'll say medium rare - Medium; if you are grilling for a large group of people this is the best steak to please most everyone - Medium well; it is the steak for the squeamish who don't want color in their meat - Well done; most people will tell you that this is the steak for people who don't like steak. While there is some truth to that, it is a popular way to get a steak so any good grill needs to know how to do it. Despite those facts above, my major concern is that undercooked meat might harbor diseases. For those who eat pork, since pigs are known to be the carriers of various parasitic worms, do you think it is safe to eat pork whose doneness is not well done?

Answer: The degree of Done-ness has less to to with health than with personal preference. The healthiness of food has more to do with the source and care of the preparation of it than with how long it is cooked. There are obvious exceptions to this. Bacterial growth can be a problem in food preparation, but not all bacteria are pathogens (in fact most are not). Cooking meat and other protein items can lessen or eliminate the possibility of bacterial growth if the correct internal temperatures are reached. See the site below. Common sense in food preparation can do much to eliminate the contamination of foods, including meat. Realize that raw meat (and fish and eggs) have been in the human diet for a very long time (and usually without food poisoning). In terms of the carcinogenic nature of cooked meat, much of this is by association (with charred fats) and not by studies of direct cause and effect. For Pork, the internal cooking temperature of 160 °F will prevent any parasites from entering your body alive. The outside look might be less than charcoal to achieve this. Meat, including pork, that has been cooked overnight in a slow-cooker (crock-pot) will be very tasty and perfectly safe. This is a good way to prepare BBQ and Italian Beef type dishes.