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Hormone Replacement Therapy linked to lower
risk of certain Colon Cancers
Newswise, August 2010 — The link between
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and
reduced risk of distal large bowel cancer in
women; a promising combination antibiotic
therapy for ulcerative colitis patients; and
the high-rate of alcoholic liver disease
mortality, are among the scientific findings
featured in the August issue of The American
Journal of Gastroenterology.
Longer duration of use of hormone
replacement therapy is associated with an
increased reduction of distal large bowel
cancer incidence among women, regardless of
race, according to the findings of “Hormone
Replacement Therapy, Oral Contraceptive Use,
and Distal Large Bowel Cancer: A
Population-Based Case-Control Study,”
published in the August issue.
However, oral contraceptives, when
modern-day formulations are included, do not
reduce the risk of distal large bowel cancer
incidence for both Caucasian and African
American women.
A small study from Japan, “Newly
Developed Antibiotic Combination Therapy for
Ulcerative Colitis: A Double-Blind
Placebo-Controlled Multicenter Trial,”
randomized 105 patients to placebo and 105
to a two-week antibiotic combination therapy
and found that antibiotic treatment produced
improvement, remission, and steroid
withdrawal in active ulcerative colitis
patients more effectively than a placebo.
Investigators suggest this antibiotic
combination therapy should be considered
alongside conventional therapy in patients
with relapsing ulcerative colitis as an
alternative to undertaking surgery.
Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) is a
significant burden on public health, with
alcohol consumption accounting for an
estimated 3.8% of global mortality. A total
of 287,365 deaths were observed over a
24-year period in the study, “Alcoholic
Liver Disease-Related Mortality in the
United States: 1980-2003.”
Over this 24-year period, ALD-related
mortality decreased, whereas hepatitis C
virus (HCV)-related mortality increased.
However, ALD continues to be a significant
cause of mortality. In 2003, the age-and-sex
adjusted mortality rate was 4.4/100,000 for
ALD and 2.9/100,000 for HCV.
This month’s Journal also features a number
of other studies relating to digestive
disease, including:
• “A
Decision-Analytic Evaluation of the
Cost-Effectiveness of Family History-Based
Colorectal Cancer Screening Programs,”
found that family history screening (FHS) at
age 40, followed by colonoscopy schedules
following current guidelines, has
moderate-to-poor cost-effectiveness when
compared with population-wide screening at
age 50. For persons identified as having
higher risk based on family history, 5-year
screening schedules appear to have superior
cost-effectiveness to 10-year schedules.
• “Irritable
Bowel Syndrome – Type Symptoms in Patients
with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Real
Association or Reflection of Occult
Inflammation?” concluded that
IBS-like symptoms are common in patients
with IBD who are thought to be in clinical
remission, but abnormal calprotectin levels
suggest that the mechanism in most cases is
likely to be occult inflammation, rather
than coexistent IBS.
View the Table of Contents and abstracts
from the August issue--including the studies
cited above--online at
The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
About the
American College of Gastroenterology
Founded in 1932, the American College of
Gastroenterology (ACG) is an organization
with an international membership of over
11,000 individuals from 80 countries.
The College is committed to serving the
clinically oriented digestive disease
specialist through its emphasis on scholarly
practice, teaching and research. The mission
of the College is to serve the evolving
needs of physicians in the delivery of high
quality, scientifically sound, humanistic,
ethical and cost-effective health care to
gastroenterology patients.
About
The American Journal of Gastroenterology
The American Journal of Gastroenterology is
published on behalf of the American College
of Gastroenterology by Nature Publishing
Group. As the leading clinical journal
covering gastroenterology and hepatology,
The American Journal of Gastroenterology (AJG)
provides practical and professional support
for clinicians dealing with the
gastroenterological disorders seen most
often in patients.
Published with practicing clinicians in
mind, AJG devotes itself to publishing
timely medical research in gastroenterology
and hepatology. The Co-Editors-in-Chief are
William D. Chey, MD, AGAF, FACG, FACP of the
University of Michigan and Paul Moayyedi,
BSc, MB ChB, PhD, MPH, FRCP, FRCPC, FACG of
McMaster University
