Colorectal Cancer: From screening to survivorship with Dr. Emil Lou and Kim Newcomer
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. This month, we had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Emil Lou, an MCC researcher and medical oncologist at the University of Minnesota, and Kim Newcomer, a 16-year stage IV rectal cancer survivor and passionate advocate from the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, for a discussion about all things colorectal cancer, covering everything from screening to survivorship. Be sure to join us for our Fireside Chat on March 19, where Dr. Lou and Kim will be our special expert guests!
What is your education background? What intrigued you about your field of specialty and what brought you to the University of Minnesota?
Dr. Emil Lou: I am a Physician-Scientist and Professor with Tenure at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota (UMN). I have been at UMN since 2011. As an undergraduate, I majored in biochemistry. After that, I completed MD and PhD degrees (Microbiology and Immunology) followed by residency training in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. I subsequently began my sub-specialty training and completed a Medical Oncology and Hematology fellowship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, followed by an additional fellowship in Neuro-Oncology at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke.
As a physician-scientist with a strong interest in understanding and treating cancer, especially solid tumors, I work at the intersection of patient care and research, studying how cancer cells behave in the lab and how we can apply that knowledge to help patients. My main focus is on treating patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer and neuroendocrine tumors. In my research, I look for knowledge gaps between what we see in patients and what we can discover in the lab, using both basic and applied science to find solutions. I lead a research lab that studies how cells communicate within tumors and how this affects tumor growth and resistance to treatment. The goal of my team is to figure out how tumors become resistant to treatment and find ways to stop that, making therapies more effective.
What is colorectal cancer and how is it typically diagnosed?
Dr. Lou: In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among men and women, with nearly 150,000 new cases each year. Colorectal cancer is one of the few cancer types with accessible, validated, and approved methods of screening to find the cancer early—hopefully at a point where it is treatable and even curable. Many cases of colorectal cancer can be detected on a colonoscopy. However, in other patients, the cancer may be found when symptoms develop, such as bleeding in the stool, abdominal pain, or other concerning symptoms that require further evaluation. It is vital to recognize these symptoms and bring them up to your doctors and other care providers as soon as possible. Early and accurate diagnosis of colorectal cancers can make a difference in improving outcomes.
What health disparities exist in regards to colorectal cancer and are there services available in the community that could help fill these gaps for people to more easily access screenings and other types of care?
Dr. Lou: Although the overall number of cases of colorectal cancer in the U.S. has been slowly decreasing since 2000, there has been an increase of three percent per year in young adult cases since 2010. Studies over the past years have noted an alarmingly higher rate of this cancer in racial and ethnic minorities—especially in Native Americans and African Americans. This stark difference shines light on potential disparities in access to healthcare, possible genetic differences, and other potential causes that are important to uncover so that all people can have the same access to care that they need for early diagnosis and effective treatments of this disease. Here in the Twin Cities area, we have relatively larger communities of Somali and Hmong background, as well as Native American communities throughout the state. A big part of our Cancer Center’s mission is to ensure that we meet the needs of these and of every community. A piece of that effort includes the Cancer Center’s mobile colorectal cancer (CRC) community screening program, launched by MCC’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement. This program is just one example of how teamwork and partnership among scientists, healthcare providers, and local community advocates can strengthen shared efforts to improve access to colorectal cancer screenings, especially for people from historically underserved populations.
Are there any preventative measures that people can take against getting colorectal cancer?
Dr. Lou: A whopping 90-95 percent of colorectal cancer cases are caused by environmental factors or exposures—things our bodies come into contact with on a regular basis. It’s important to reduce or eliminate smoking and alcohol use. Additional risk factors include a sedentary lifestyle, which also increases risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases. Create and maintain a healthy lifestyle that combines regular and sustained physical activity with a diet that minimizes processed foods and red meats, and prioritizes healthy foods that include fiber, grains, fruits and vegetables. There is a lot of ongoing cancer prevention research, and I expect we will know more about how we can take action to reduce our risk even further in the years to come.
How is your research/work advancing understanding of colorectal cancer and how we prevent/diagnose/treat it?
Dr. Lou: In addition to treating patients with gastrointestinal cancers at MCC, I am a researcher. I lead a laboratory that investigates colorectal cancers at the cellular and molecular levels, with the goal of trying to figure out how these cancer cells communicate with each other and how this communication is vital to the growth of tumors. If this communication is truly as critical as we believe, then stopping or interfering with it would be a unique way we can halt tumor growth and stop colorectal cancers.
I also lead efforts to integrate new technologies, such as molecular diagnostics, to understand new ways we can treat patients. I am part of a consortium, or group, of oncologists building a network for a national clinical trial platform called K-SPY that we hope will transform how we approach clinical trials for patients with colorectal cancer—by delivering better treatments, faster. This group, organized through the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, is working to pool all our expertise and resources together to truly make progress toward curing colorectal cancers.
Above all, my team and I are dedicated to advancing colorectal cancer research because we owe it to all patients—past, current and future—to find ways to better treat this cancer and aim for cures.
How has your experience as a survivor shaped your advocacy efforts for awareness and patient support?
Kim Newcomer: My journey as a survivor has fueled my passion for advocacy, driving me to raise awareness, support patients, and ensure no one faces colorectal cancer alone. I hope to empower others and push for better resources, education, and access to life-saving screenings by sharing my story.
What challenges do patients, particularly those in underserved communities, face when it comes to colorectal cancer screening and treatment, and how can advocacy efforts help bridge these gaps?
Kim: Patients in underserved communities often face barriers like limited access to screenings, financial constraints, and a lack of culturally-relevant healthcare information. Advocacy efforts can help bridge these gaps by pushing for policy changes, expanding outreach programs, and ensuring everyone has the same access to colorectal cancer prevention and treatment.
Through your work in patient-centered research and clinical trials, how do you see the role of patient advocacy influencing advancements in colorectal cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment?
Kim: Patient advocacy is essential in shaping research, ensuring that clinical trials and prevention efforts actually prioritize patient needs. By amplifying patient voices, we can foster innovations that make colorectal cancer detection, treatment, and care more accessible, effective, and patient-centered. That’s why the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (the Alliance) is launching K-SPY, a special multi-center (multi-location) platform trial designed to revolutionize treatment for high-risk colorectal cancer cases. By championing patient-centered research, we can drive progress in colorectal cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, leading to better outcomes for all.