• Colorectal Cancer Info MAIN MENU
  • Screen MAIN MENU
  • Care MAIN MENU
  • Cure MAIN MENU
  • Get Involved MAIN MENU
  • Our Mission MAIN MENU

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Advancing Screening for Young Onset Patients


Funding through the Chris4Life Research Program supported a study led by Dr. Megan Hitchins, based at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Her research seeks to identify an accurate and inexpensive blood-based colorectal cancer screening test effective for younger patients. 

She and her team developed a test that has positively identified the few patients in their study who were diagnosed with precancerous adenomas–a benign tumor–an encouraging sign that the screening is sensitive enough and therefore, effective, for early colorectal cancer detection. Your support allowed Dr. Hitchins to make this heartening discovery and to leverage the $150,000 grant she received from the Alliance into more than $3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to continue and expand her research toward discovery of the test. 

Read updates about Dr. Hitchins’ study and other Alliance-funded projects from 2021 below.

2022 Research Grants


Additionally, through your contributions, we revised our research strategy, updated our priorities, and awarded seven new research grants in December of 2022. 

Each of these exciting initiatives focus on one of the following categories of our research priorities: 

  • New targets and improved therapies: innovative early discovery and research projects that quickly transition new discoveries into immediate clinical use directed towards targets and treatments that lead to cures for greater numbers of colorectal cancer patients.
  • Diagnosis, prognosis, and response: research on new predictive and diagnostic approaches to enhance personalized treatment strategies or screening to improve outcomes.
  • Precise and equitable implementation of screening and care: development and evaluation of community-advised, effective, and real-world applications to overcome racial and other colorectal cancer outcome disparities.

Clinical trials, just a click away


The success and speed of clinical trials is critical to bringing new treatments to market and allowing patients to explore additional treatment options. Often trial participation is the only option for extending survival. Yet searching for available trials - and then actually qualifying and accessing the site - can be complicated and overwhelming.

Because of supporters like you, the Alliance offers a seamless trial search and support process. With our live navigation and easy-to-use clinical trial finder tool on our website and in our BlueHQ patient platform, users will receive a list matched exactly to their cancer profile and preferences. Coupled with investment in community partnerships to support trial access, and a 2023 marketing campaign to dispel myths, increase awareness, and build trust around trials, the Alliance is investing in a multi-pronged approach to ensure we identify new treatments faster by solving the challenge of clinical trial access, trust, and participation. 

Hope for a cure made possible through research


Janice Johnson’s story started with a stomach ache she thought was food poisoning. She was initially dismissed from the ER, but returned when her doctor found something concerning. She received a colonoscopy that revealed stage IIIb colon cancer, which later became metastatic. Janice connected with the Alliance, and thanks to your support, she’s learned how research developments can help her path toward survivorship. Janice received biomarker testing, a relatively new research discovery, which identified the genetic makeup of her cancer — information that could lead to scientific insights for better treatment of her specific cancer’s profile. Your commitment to the Alliance provides information and guidance like this, which gives hope to patients like Janice.

Save the Date!

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and Friday, March 3 is Dress in Blue Day (for colorectal cancer awareness). Stay tuned to Alliance channels all month for exciting news, updates and initiatives to share with family and friends.

What did you think of The Alliant? Click here to tell us what you liked and what you would like to see more of in the next edition!

Are you sure?

Clicking "Start Over" will empty your resources drawer and take you back to the beginning of the journey customizer. Would you like to continue?

Are you sure?

Clicking "Exit" will permanently close your resource drawer for the rest of the session. If you would like to minimize the drawer and access it from other pages, click the symbol next to "MY RESOURCES". Would you like to permanently exit the drawer?