Radiographic staging practices of newly diagnosed colorectal cancer vary according to medical specialty.

Background: Since 2008, multiple guidelines have endorsed incorporation of chest CT in the radiographic staging assessment of newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (CRC). Radiographic staging practices performed after CRC is detected have not been studied.

Objective: To evaluate radiographic staging practices for newly diagnosed CRC between gastroenterologists versus non-gastroenterologists.

Patient Non-adherence and Cancellations Are Higher for Screening Colonoscopy Compared with Surveillance Colonoscopy.

Background: A significant proportion of the eligible population is non-adherent to colonoscopy for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.

Aims: To define the demographic and clinical variables associated with non-adherence and multiple cancellations to scheduled colonoscopy within 1 year in a CRC screening and adenomatous polyp surveillance population.

Methods: This was an observational cohort study of 617 consecutive patients scheduled to undergo colonoscopy at an outpatient academic tertiary care center for CRC screening or adenomatous polyp surveillance from January 2012 to September 2012.

Hepatitis B vaccination in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Aim: To determine the prevalence for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HBV screening and vaccination practices for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional observational study. A retrospective chart review was performed in 500 patients who have been consecutively treated for IBD between September 2008 and January 2013 at the Rush University Medical Center Gastroenterology section.

Negative surveillance endoscopy occurs frequently in patients with short-segment non-dysplastic Barrett's esophagus.

Surveillance endoscopy of non-dysplastic Barrett's esophagus (NDBE) that fails to detect intestinal metaplasia (IM), or negative surveillance, is known to occur in clinical practice, although the frequency and possible outcomes in a large cohort in clinical practice is not well described. The goals of this study were to define frequency in which negative surveillance occurs and endoscopic outcomes in a screening cohort of short segment NDBE. A retrospective cohort (n = 184) of patients newly diagnosed with short segment NDBE at an outpatient academic tertiary care center between 2003 and 2011 were reviewed.

Commonality and differences of methylation signatures in the plasma of patients with pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer.

Profiling of DNA methylation status of specific genes is a way to screen for colorectal cancer (CRC) and pancreatic cancer (PC) in blood. The commonality of methylation status of cancer-related tumor suppressor genes between CRC and PC is largely unknown. Methylation status of 56 cancer-related genes was compared in plasma of patients in the following cohorts: CRC, PC and healthy controls.