Exploring the myths of colorectal cancer

19 May 2017

If you were diagnosed with colorectal (bowel) cancer 20 years ago, you had a 50 per cent chance of surviving five years.

Today, thanks to improved treatment informed by innovative research, almost three in every four patients (75 per cent) with colorectal cancer at St John of God Subiaco Hospital celebrate this milestone.

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, affecting about one in every 25 Australians. Treatment depends upon the location of the cancer in the bowel. Cancers in the rectum (the last 17cm of the bowel) are usually treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, followed by surgery to remove the tumour. Cancers higher up in the bowel, in the colon, are usually treated with surgery and sometimes chemotherapy.

Understanding why some patients with rectal cancer respond to this standard treatment regime and some don’t is a primary focus for St John of God Subiaco Hospital’s Colorectal Cancer Research Group.

They currently have 150 patients enrolled in a research program which is looking at how stem cells grow and divide in colorectal cancer patients and how the body’s own immune system fights cancer. By the end of the year they hope to have increased this patient cohort to 200.

St John of God Subiaco Hospital’s Colorectal Research Group Director Professor Cameron Platell said the study team followed these patients from diagnosis to at least five years post-surgery, collecting data from biopsies as well as blood and stool tests.

“What we are doing is looking at a range of factors that may help us to predict a response to treatment,” Professor Platell said.

“If we can get it right in terms of managing colorectal cancer and encouraging an immune response, we may get to a point where some people may not need surgery.

“Eventually, we hope this study will help us select treatment options and improve survival rates.”

 St John of God Foundation looks to support innovative medical research and technology just like this project.

Professor Platell said the incidence of bowel cancer internationally remained fairly stable, although he noted there had been a slight but unexplainable increase among Australians aged under 50 more recently.

“Being overweight or sedentary, genetic factors and pre-existing inflammatory conditions such as colitis do appear to have a link to colorectal cancer, but in many people it appears to be a random mutation,” he said.

“By allowing us to follow their journeys, the patients in our trial are contributing to a better understanding of this disease, which will hopefully lead to better outcomes for everyone.”

Image: The West Australian