Mar 27, 2007 6:00 pm US/Eastern
Health: Colorectal Cancer Study
by Stephanie Stahl
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Tony Snow is one of 150,000 Americans diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer every year. Early detection can help treat it in the earliest stages but could a spice actually prevent it?
Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl has the details on a study being done in our area.
Ned Van Dyke has a high risk of developing colon cancer. He's already had two colonoscopies which found pre-cancerous polyps and has a family history of the disease.
"My mother had colon cancer late in life," Ned said.
Hoping to avoid the same fate, Ned joined a study to test a pill made from an ingredient called curcumin found in the spice turmeric.
Dr. Carmen Guerra, an internist with at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania, says the spice is commonly used in India.
Curcumin is abundantly used in their diet but also as a food preservative, where as here in the U.S, it's hardly ever used," Dr. Guerra said.
So why do they think this spice ingredient is special?
"India has the lowest rates of colon cancer in the world," Dr. Guerra explained.
Researchers have been studying the effects of curcumin in animals for two decades.
"These animal studies have shown that this may be a very effective anti colorectal cancer agent and interestingly, a very safe one," Dr. Guerra said.
Dr. Guerra is now leading a curcumin study on people using a concentrated dose of the plant chemical.
"We're trying to determine if curcumin induces cell death in cells that are precancerous," Dr. Guerra added.
Ned isn't sure if he'll benefit directly from the study but he hopes by participating, he's making a difference.
"Well if I'm going to try to benefit from medical advances, I have to be willing to contribute to perhaps making them possible by being a subject," Ned said.
Regular colonoscopies after age 50 are the best way to prevent colon cancer.
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