Where the sun don't shine...

Most people don’t have colon cancer.  Most people never even have a problem with polyps.  Even those who do have a polyp or two removed generally have no further problems.  For some people, though, it is a very different story.

We all know that colorectal cancer is more prevalent than is widely recognized in society.  One out of 18 people in the United States will be diagnosed with this cancer.  And right now the odds are about 2 to 1 they will be diagnosed in the later stages.  We also know that the key to stopping this disease is screening. 

Sometimes in screening a polyp is discovered.  This means you have to get screened more often.  Sometimes, a polyp is discovered the next time.  And the time after that. Some people have colons that are, for whatever reason, polyp-generating machines.  Odds are, at some time one of those things will get nasty.  So life becomes a litany of annual prep, annual time spent in the bathroom catching up on reading, annual colonoscopies.  And annual cycles of fear, wondering if this time something more than a polyp will be found.

Today an announcement was made that may mark the beginning of the end for this ritual.  Researchers have evaluated the efficacy of a new treatment.  They tested a combination of a synthetic amino acid, DFMO, and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, sulindac, to treat patients with recurring polyps.  The results of the study were so dramatic the oversight committee ended it early, saying it would be wrong to keep the control group on placebos when the treatment seemed so effective.

Of course, there is always a hitch.  The study group was small, and the study didn’t last long.  Some scientists say that the study has not yet proven the combination truly works, and has not yet proven that the combination is safe.  (DFMO by itself is toxic.)  Researchers probably need a couple of years to do further trials before some of these questions are answered.

Most people don’t ever have polyps, and most of those who do have no recurrence.  For that segment of the population who live in fear of those nasty little clumps of cells growing back year after year, this new report—no matter what the caveats—might just be a much needed ray of light.