Latest News from external organisations
December 2011
New practice guidance for on the management of acute and chronic gastrointestinal problems arising as a result of treatment for cancer
MacMillan has issued a press release about new clinical guidelines which have just been published online in Gut and which are a result of a collaboration between the British Society of Gastroenterology, the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons and the Royal College of Radiologists.
“With the background of the increasing number of post-cancer survivors, the article is an important contribution to the implementation of medically professional care of these patients. It is a comprehensive, practical, and thorough review.”
“Should be required reading for all who treat patients for cancer or its sequelae”.
Peer reviewers of the published guidance in ‘Gut’ http://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2011/11/04/gutjnl-2011-300563.full
The number of patients with chronic GI symptoms after cancer therapies which have a moderate or severe impact on quality of life is similar to the number diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease annually. However, in contrast to patients with inflammatory bowel disease, most of these patients are not referred for gastroenterological assessment. Clinicians who do see these patients are often unaware of the benefits of targeted investigation (which differ from those required to exclude recurrent cancer), the range of available treatments and how the pathological processes underlying side effects of cancer treatment differ from those in benign GI disorders. This paper aims to help clinicians become aware of the problem and suggests ways in which the panoply of syndromes can be managed.
