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Gene Variation Associated With Decreased Risk of Colorectal Cancer
Gastroenterology and Hepatology News Richard Peek and K. Rajender Reddy, Section Editors
Gene Variation Associated With Decreased Risk of Colorectal Cancer
V
ariation in a gene that encodes a hormone secreted by fat cells is associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study in the October 1, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Several studies have shown an association between obesity and the risk of colorectal cancer. Adiponectin is a hormone secreted by adipose tissue, and serum levels of adiponectin are inversely correlated with obesity and high levels of insulin. “While there is evidence of an association between circulating adiponectin levels and colorectal cancer risk, no association between genes of the adiponectin pathway and colorectal cancer have been reported to date,” the authors write.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hosts National Conference to Promote On-Line Prescribing
M
ore than 1400 health care professionals and industry leaders convened in Boston on October 7, 2008, for the National E-prescribing Conference hosted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) along with 34 cosponsoring organizations. The conference addressed the potential of electronic prescribing (eprescribing) to improve health care in the United States. Featured speakers included the US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (DHHS) Mike Leavitt, CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems, Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Rhode Island Governor Donald Car-
Virginia G. Kaklamani, MD, DSc, of the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the association between variations in the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) and adiponectin receptor 1 (ADIPOR1) genes and colorectal cancer risk. The study consisted of 2 case-control studies including patients with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer and controls without cancer. Case-control study 1 included a total of 441 patients with colorectal cancer and 658 controls; both groups were of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry and were from New York. Case-control study 2 included 199 patients with colorectal cancer and 199 controls from Chicago, matched for gender, age, and ethnicity. “In this clinic-based case-control analysis, we found an association between 1 single-nucleotide polymorphism of the ADIPOQ gene (rs266729) and colorectal cancer risk in 2 separate
case-control studies, as well as in the combined analysis of both studies after adjustment for age, sex and other SNPs [single nucleotide polymorphisms],” the researchers write. They add that the findings suggest that the ADIPOQ gene may harbor susceptible SNPs/mutations that could modify colorectal cancer risk. “If these exciting results can be confirmed in other studies, the adiponectin axis may emerge as an important modifier of colorectal cancer risk. Future studies will need to address the potential impact of adiponectin and its SNPs in the prognosis of colorectal cancer and also may be incorporated in genetic risk models for the disease.” See “Variants of the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) and adiponectin receptor 1 (ADIPOR1) genes and colorectal cancer risk,” JAMA. 2008;300:1523–1531.
cieri, and Health Evolution Partners Chairman David Brailer, MD, PhD. Topics of discussion included a newly enacted federal e-prescribing incentive payment program, strategies and tools for integrating e-prescribing with current health care delivery practices, and privacy, security, and risk management implications. “Our Nation’s health care system is undergoing a major transformation thanks to health information technology advancements like e-prescribing,” said DHHS Secretary Leavitt. “From the smallest rural communities to the largest metropolitan areas, e-prescribing is streamlining the prescription process for patients, providers, health plans, and pharmacies. Today’s National E-prescribing Conference is a vital step in overcoming e-prescribing barriers and sharing both best practices and insights to accelerate adoption.”
According to CMS, “prescribing electronically gives physicians secure electronic access to each patient’s prescription history, helping to avoid prescriptions that may result in drug interactions.” Agency officials noted that e-prescribing also would eliminate the possibility of medication errors caused by illegible handwriting, improve quality and efficiency by actively promoting appropriate prescribing patterns, furnish information to providers and dispensers about formulary-based drug coverage, accelerate prescription renewals, and facilitate communication between physicians’ offices and pharmacies. The Institute of Medicine reported in 1996 that ⬎1.5 million Americans, including an estimated 530,000 Medicare beneficiaries, are injured each year by drug errors. Under provisions in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), physicians and
Stories by Les Lang
GASTROENTEROLOGY 2008;135:1831–1833
Gene Variation Associated With Decreased Risk of Colorectal Cancer
V
ariation in a gene that encodes a hormone secreted by fat cells is associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study in the October 1, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Several studies have shown an association between obesity and the risk of colorectal cancer. Adiponectin is a hormone secreted by adipose tissue, and serum levels of adiponectin are inversely correlated with obesity and high levels of insulin. “While there is evidence of an association between circulating adiponectin levels and colorectal cancer risk, no association between genes of the adiponectin pathway and colorectal cancer have been reported to date,” the authors write.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hosts National Conference to Promote On-Line Prescribing
M
ore than 1400 health care professionals and industry leaders convened in Boston on October 7, 2008, for the National E-prescribing Conference hosted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) along with 34 cosponsoring organizations. The conference addressed the potential of electronic prescribing (eprescribing) to improve health care in the United States. Featured speakers included the US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (DHHS) Mike Leavitt, CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems, Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Rhode Island Governor Donald Car-
Virginia G. Kaklamani, MD, DSc, of the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the association between variations in the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) and adiponectin receptor 1 (ADIPOR1) genes and colorectal cancer risk. The study consisted of 2 case-control studies including patients with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer and controls without cancer. Case-control study 1 included a total of 441 patients with colorectal cancer and 658 controls; both groups were of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry and were from New York. Case-control study 2 included 199 patients with colorectal cancer and 199 controls from Chicago, matched for gender, age, and ethnicity. “In this clinic-based case-control analysis, we found an association between 1 single-nucleotide polymorphism of the ADIPOQ gene (rs266729) and colorectal cancer risk in 2 separate
case-control studies, as well as in the combined analysis of both studies after adjustment for age, sex and other SNPs [single nucleotide polymorphisms],” the researchers write. They add that the findings suggest that the ADIPOQ gene may harbor susceptible SNPs/mutations that could modify colorectal cancer risk. “If these exciting results can be confirmed in other studies, the adiponectin axis may emerge as an important modifier of colorectal cancer risk. Future studies will need to address the potential impact of adiponectin and its SNPs in the prognosis of colorectal cancer and also may be incorporated in genetic risk models for the disease.” See “Variants of the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) and adiponectin receptor 1 (ADIPOR1) genes and colorectal cancer risk,” JAMA. 2008;300:1523–1531.
cieri, and Health Evolution Partners Chairman David Brailer, MD, PhD. Topics of discussion included a newly enacted federal e-prescribing incentive payment program, strategies and tools for integrating e-prescribing with current health care delivery practices, and privacy, security, and risk management implications. “Our Nation’s health care system is undergoing a major transformation thanks to health information technology advancements like e-prescribing,” said DHHS Secretary Leavitt. “From the smallest rural communities to the largest metropolitan areas, e-prescribing is streamlining the prescription process for patients, providers, health plans, and pharmacies. Today’s National E-prescribing Conference is a vital step in overcoming e-prescribing barriers and sharing both best practices and insights to accelerate adoption.”
According to CMS, “prescribing electronically gives physicians secure electronic access to each patient’s prescription history, helping to avoid prescriptions that may result in drug interactions.” Agency officials noted that e-prescribing also would eliminate the possibility of medication errors caused by illegible handwriting, improve quality and efficiency by actively promoting appropriate prescribing patterns, furnish information to providers and dispensers about formulary-based drug coverage, accelerate prescription renewals, and facilitate communication between physicians’ offices and pharmacies. The Institute of Medicine reported in 1996 that ⬎1.5 million Americans, including an estimated 530,000 Medicare beneficiaries, are injured each year by drug errors. Under provisions in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), physicians and
Stories by Les Lang
GASTROENTEROLOGY 2008;135:1831–1833