Tag Archives: surveillance

Geography matters: Imaging overuse seen for breast, prostate cancer in certain regions across the U.S.

Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, in a new retrospective study publishing online March 12th in JAMA Oncology, conclude that patients with low-risk prostate or breast cancer were more or less likely to receive inappropriate imaging during treatment, depending on the region of the country in which they received medical care. They examined medical records from 2004-2007 of 9,219 men with low-risk prostate cancer and 30,398 women with low-risk breast cancer, across 84 separate hospital referral regions (HRRs). …

Number of young patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer anticipated to nearly double by 2030

Published in the current issue of JAMA Surgery, the findings build on prior studies of CRC trends but go a step further by providing quantitative estimates of exponentially increasing risk for CRC among patients who fall under 50, the age at which CRC screening becomes recommended for the general public. …

New viral mutation made middle-aged adults more susceptible to last year’s flu

“We identified a mutation in recent H1N1 strains that allows viruses to avoid immune responses that are present in a large number of middle-aged adults,” said Scott Hensley, Ph.D., a member of Wistar’s Vaccine Center and an assistant professor in the Translational Tumor Immunology program of Wistar’s Cancer Center. Historically, children and the elderly are most susceptible to the severe effects of the influenza viruses, largely because they have weaker immune systems…

Patients treated with radiation therapy who have tumors in left breast have comparable overall survival to those with tumors in right breast –…

Studies have shown that breast cancer patients treated with radiation therapy have improved local-regional recurrence, and breast cancer-specific survival after breast-conserving surgery and overall survival (OS) after mastectomy. Long-term follow-up of historic radiation therapy trials for breast cancer has demonstrated a potential increase in cardiac mortality. However, these studies used earlier modes of radiation therapy including Cobalt and orthovoltage radiotherapy, and did not employ CT-based planning, which allows for greater cardiac avoidance. Three recent studies suggest that cardiac mortality has not been greater for patients treated for left-sided breast cancer since the 1980s, when techniques allowing for greater cardiac avoidance became more commonplace[1-3]. …

A diet for the cell: Keeping DNA fit with fewer calories

Cells harbour genetic material in the form of DNA, which contains all the information required for the cell to function. Every time a cell divides this information has to be precisely copied so that the newly made cell receives a perfect replica in order that it, too, can function properly. …

Endoscopists recommend frequent colonoscopies, leading to its overuse, study finds

“Our study shows that a high percentage of follow-up colonoscopies are being performed too early, resulting in use of scarce health care resources with potentially limited clinical benefit,” said Thomas D. Sequist MD, MPH, BWH Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, senior study author…

Minority background, low education, and low income negatively influence HPV vaccine series completion

To better understand why women who initiate HPV vaccination do not complete the series, a team of researchers led by Dr. Abbey Berenson from the University of Texas Medical Branch examined the correlates of vaccine series completion among young women using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a cross-sectional telephone health survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. …