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SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- New treatments for hepatitis C hold promise for adults, top researchers said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for APRISO(TM) (mesalamine) extended-release capsules 0.375 g. APRISO is a locally-acting aminosalicylate indicated for the maintenance of remission of ulcerative colitis (UC) in adults. APRISO is the first and only mesalamine product approved by the FDA for once-a-day dosing for the maintenance of remission of ulcerative colitis.

To prevent more deaths and suffering from the third most common cancer in California, the California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4) http://cacoloncancer.org/ recently held its first community forum, calling for a 10 percent increase in the rates of colorectal cancer screening.

Rhode Island hospital researchers have identified genetic proteins, also known as biomarkers, capable of distinguishing changes at the microscopic level that can signal a precancerous condition in the esophagus. These markers may help identify patients who are likely to progress to esophageal cancer. This first of its kind study is published in the journal Clinical cancer Research. Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a common precancerous condition of the lower esophagus.

Tumour suppressor genes do not necessarily require both alleles to be knocked out before disease phenotypes are expressed. Research published in BioMed Central's new open access journal PathoGenetics reveals that only one allele of SMAD4 has to be damaged to put a person at risk of pancreatic and colorectal cancer.

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- The nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor tenofovir (Viread) offered potent suppression of chronic hepatitis B through nearly two years, researchers said here.

Polypectomy (the surgical removal of polyps by colonoscopy) of small polyps found during CT colonography is costly and unnecessary according to a study performed at the University of Wisconsin School of medicine and Public health in Madison, WI.

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- Hepatitis C patients with liver grafts from older donors had a significantly better 18-month survival rate via a low-dose immunosuppressive regimen and preemptive antiviral therapy, Italian investigators reported here after a record review.

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- Hepatitis C-positive liver transplant recipients live just as long whether the donor is HCV-positive or -negative, data from the national transplant network suggest.

Medarex, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDX) and The Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (MBL) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) today announced that a Phase 2 trial of an anti-C. difficile antibody combination treatment in patients with C. difficile Associated Diarrhea (CDAD) successfully met its primary objective.