What's New
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has taken a leadership role in clinical innovations that are improving outcomes and lessening the risks of therapy in colorectal cancer.
Radical resections, for example, are being replaced with several different types of minimally invasive procedures.
At the same time, some of the newer targeted medical therapies are dramatically building on the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy with very tolerable side effects.
Richard L. Whelan, MD Ninety percent of colorectal surgeries are performed laparoscopically at the Colorectal Care Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
Yet even minimally invasive surgery inflicts trauma on the body, according to Richard L. Whelan, MD, Chief, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Associate Director, Division of Surgical Oncology.
Dr. Whelan and colleagues are aggressively working to reduce this downside of surgery through a host of cutting-edge studies.
Most people are blissfully unaware of their pelvic floor and anal sphincter muscles—as long as they're working normally.
These muscles support the rectum and the bladder, as well as the female reproductive organs.
When they weaken, individuals may suffer from an embarrassing condition called anal incontinence. Symptoms range from the occasional involuntary passing of gas to daily fecal soiling.
In extreme cases, people are afraid to leave their homes for fearing of having an accident.
Relief is now only a phone call away, at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia's Anorectal Physiology Laboratory (ARP Lab), a state-of-the-art center, and one of only a few in metropolitan New York to offer a full complement of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for anorectal disorders.
Visualizing Better Care: PET for Colorectal Cancer
Positron emission tomography (PET) has played a significant role in improving outcomes for colorectal cancer patients.
"PET helps us to determine whether or not someone is a surgical candidate, by revealing whether the disease has spread elsewhere," reports Tracey D.Arnell,MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
"We often use PET to investigate suspicious findings on a CT or chest X-ray."
Read about Healthpoints: PET for Colorectal Cancer (page 4)  .
John Smith |
When occupational therapist John Smith turned 50, his primary care physician recommended that he have a colonoscopy. Much to his surprise, the results showed stage I colon cancer.
Knowing he needed to undergo surgery, Mr. Smith decided to visit Dr. Richard L. Whelan for a second opinion and to learn more about laparoscopic colorectal surgery.
During his visit, Mr. Smith learned that Dr. Whelan was conducting a clinical trial that could help boost the immune system around the time of surgery.
The trial was randomized, meaning that Mr. Smith would not know whether he received the treatment or a placebo.
He chose to participate because he realized that the trial could benefit other people one day and because it shifted his focus to the positive—toward boosting his immune system.
Novel Colorectal Cancer Vaccine Trial
Columbia is the only center in the New York area to participate in a study of the efficacy of a tumor vaccine in the management of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
Eligible patients have metastatic colorectal cancer who but have not yet been treated with chemotherapy (other than adjuvant chemotherapy) for a phase II clinical trial.
All patients will receive standard chemotherapy with or without a new vaccine, manufactured by Aventis Pasteur.
The hope is that the vaccine will activate the body's immune system to eliminate cancer cells that may not be eradicated with standard chemotherapy.
For more information, or to refer a patient, please call 1.212.342.0232, or e-mail gd2023@columbia.edu, and mention the ALVAC study.
Pelvic floor disorders — bowel and urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, and prolapsed pelvic organs — if untreated, can make daily life absolutely miserable.
However, because these conditions are difficult to discuss, even with a physician, many people suffer needlessly, sometimes for years, even though there are effective treatments for these conditions.
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia has created a new, comprehensive Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Program to treat these and other colorectal disorders and diseases.
|
