The only place in the Southeast offering the MRI-US image fusion technique is at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Program for Personalized Prostate Cancer Care. It is estimated that 2014 will see more than 240,000 new cases of prostate cancer, and more than 29,000 deaths from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute…
The only place in the Southeast offering the MRI-US image fusion technique is at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Program for Personalized Prostate Cancer Care. It is estimated that 2014 will see more than 240,000 new cases of prostate cancer, and more than 29,000 deaths from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute. Jeffrey Nix, M.D., along with colleague Soroush Rais-Bahrami, M.D., both assistant professors in the UAB Department of Urology, studied the MRI-US image fusion as fellows at the NCI. Nix and Rais-Bahrami are two of a select few urologists in the United States trained to utilize this technology; together they have five years’ experience using this approach. …
The study findings defy the conventional belief that the two treatment interventions offer equal survival, and show the need to revisit some standards of breast cancer practice in the modern era. The research was presented at the 2014 Breast Cancer Symposium by Catherine Parker, MD, formerly a fellow at MD Anderson, now at the University of Alabama Birmingham. In the 1980s, both US-based and international randomized clinical studies found that BCT and mastectomy offered women with early stage breast cancer equal survival benefit…
The study findings defy the conventional belief that the two treatment interventions offer equal survival, and show the need to revisit some standards of breast cancer practice in the modern era. The research was presented at the 2014 Breast Cancer Symposium by Catherine Parker, MD, formerly a fellow at MD Anderson, now at the University of Alabama Birmingham. In the 1980s, both US-based and international randomized clinical studies found that BCT and mastectomy offered women with early stage breast cancer equal survival benefit…
source : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140325164431.htm
source : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140213141954.htm
The formation of multiple schwannomas is one sign that a person has the genetic disorder called schwannomatosis, which is one of the three major forms of neurofibromatosis, besides neurofibromatosis types 1 and 2. The condition is so named because the tumors originate in Schwann cells that form in sheaths that insulate nerves to cause severe, chronic pain in many patients. To date, physicians cannot give most patients a confirmed diagnosis for schwannomatosis, even if they show symptoms, because changes in genes linked to the condition by past studies explain only about 50 percent of familial and less than 10 percent of sporadic cases. …
"The flu shot is recommended annually for cancer patients, as it is the most effective way to prevent influenza and its complications," said Mollie deShazo, M.D., associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and medical director of UAB Inpatient Oncology. "The flu vaccine significantly lowers the risk of acquiring the flu; it is not 100 percent effective, but it is the best tool we have." Flu activity in the United States is low, even after increasing slightly in recent weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, more activity is expected, and people who have not had a flu vaccine this year are advised to do so. "It takes up to two weeks to build immunity after a flu shot, but you can benefit even if you get the vaccine after the flu has arrived in your community," deShazo said…
Cystectomy (partial or whole bladder removal surgery) is often the standard treatment for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer; however, advanced RT techniques that spare the bladder may be an effective alternative for patients who are unsuitable for or unwilling to undergo cystectomy. This research was conducted to determine if some of the drawbacks of RT of the bladder, such as local recurrence and late toxicity risks, could be reduced with a lower dose of RT being delivered to the areas of the bladder outside of the tumor region, and to assess the tumor control and toxicity of RT. …
Gliomas account for about a third of brain tumors, and survival rates are poor; only about half of the 10,000 Americans diagnosed with malignant glioma survive the first year, and only about one quarter survive for two years. “Malignant gliomas are notorious, not only because of their resistance to conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but also for their ability to invade the surrounding brain, thus causing neurological impairment and death,” said Hassan Fathallah-Shaykh, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Neurology. “Brain invasion, a hallmark of gliomas, also helps glioma cells evade therapeutic strategies.” Fathallah-Shaykh said there is a great deal of interest among scientists in the idea that a low-oxygen environment induces glioma cells to react with aggressive movement, migration and brain invasion…