More intensive treatment of DCIS reduces the risk of invasive breast cancer
This study showed that increased cancer risk persisted for more than 15 years after a diagnosis of DCIS, and that more intensive therapy than lumpectomy alone — whether with mastectomy, radiation therapy, or endocrine therapy — reduced the risk of invasive breast cancer among women with DCIS. The lowest risk of invasive breast cancer was in women who chose mastectomy.
The risk of invasive breast cancer was seen regardless of severity of DCIS. Women who had low- or moderate-grade DCIS, as well as high-grade DCIS, had long-term increased risk.
Women who are recently diagnosed with DCIS should work with their treatment te...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 19, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kathryn Rexrode, MD, MPH Tags: Breast Cancer Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Combating patient isolation: Breast cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic
As a health care system, we have united during the COVID-19 public health threat to embrace social distancing and “flatten the curve.” In order to conserve scarce resources and limit viral transmission, we health care providers have canceled elective surgeries, postponed health screenings, and moved patient encounters to online platforms. While we are fighting to […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 14, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/jake-r-erickson-and-kirstyn-e-brownson" rel="tag" > Jake R. Erickson and Kirstyn E. Brownson, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions COVID-19 coronavirus Infectious Disease Oncology/Hematology Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, March 16th 2020
We report a new class of natural-product-inspired covalent inhibitors of telomerase that target the catalytic active site.
Age-Related Epigenetic Changes that Suppress Mitochondrial Function
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/03/age-related-epigenetic-changes-that-suppress-mitochondrial-function/
Today's open access research reports on two specific epigenetic changes observed in old individuals that act to reduce mitochondrial function. This joins an existing list of genes for which expression changes are known to impact mitochondrial function with age. A herd of hundreds of mitochondria are found...
Source: Fight Aging! - March 15, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Xcision GammaPod High Precision Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Cleared in Europe
Xcision, a company out of Columbia, Maryland, won EU regulatory clearance to introduce its GammaPod stereotactic radiotherapy system. The device is used to help treat breast cancer, and the technology within it may help to make treatments faster and more accurate compared to existing radiotherapy systems.
The system relies on a special breast cup, within which the treated breast is positioned and immobilized. This allows the stereotactic, thin beam radiation to be very accurately targeted at the lesion o
Using the GammaPod, physicians can deliver partial breast irradiation along with breast conserving treatment in five ses...
Source: Medgadget - May 6, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Radiation Oncology Surgery Source Type: blogs
Hologic Releases Trident HD Specimen Radiography System for Breast Tissue Analysis
Hologic is releasing its Trident HD specimen radiography system for use in stereotactic breast biopsies and for verifying tumor margins during breast-conserving surgeries. It has regulatory clearances in the United States and Europe, where it is now being made available. Such devices are typically used within the surgical environment to inspect excised tissues, to make sure that the entirety of a tumor is removed.
The system uses an amorphous selenium direct capture imaging detector, that is already used in Hologic’s 3Dimensions mammography device. It is a larger detector than previous specimen radiography devices, a...
Source: Medgadget - May 3, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Pathology Radiology Surgery Source Type: blogs
Fingertip Elasticity Probe Helps Spot Breast Tumors
Our fingertips are incredibly sensitive biomechanical devices. They’re regularly used by physicians to feel out tumors during biopsy or excision surgeries. While reasonably effective, too many patients return for repeat procedures to remove missed bits of target lesions.
Researchers at University of Western Australia have been working on giving superpowers to surgeons’ fingers so they can better discern healthy from cancerous tissues. The team built a quantitative micro-elastography (QME) probe that relies on optical coherence tomography to detect how tissue gives way under stress. It has a fiber optic cable ...
Source: Medgadget - March 21, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Materials Medicine Ob/Gyn Surgery Source Type: blogs
Optoacoustic Guidewire System for Breast Cancer Localization
Breast lumpectomy for breast CA is an imprecise procedure that too often results in cancerous tissue being left behind. About a quarter of patients have to come back and go through the surgery yet again.
This is in large part due to the fact that guidewires are the standard way to point to the location of a tumor. While guidewires are better than nothing, they are crude and not very precise. Radioactive seeds are another option, but they have safety concerns and radio-based technologies are limited in their targeting and they can interfere with other equipment.
Engineers at Boston University have now developed an optoacous...
Source: Medgadget - October 25, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Oncology Radiology Surgery Source Type: blogs
The Skeptical Oncologist
By BISHAL GYAWALI, MD
Why conduct post approval studies at all?
Atezolizumab previously received accelerated approval in second-line metastatic or advanced urothelial cancer based on response rates from a single arm trial. The results of post approval confirmatory phase 3 are now published and demonstrate that atezolizumab did not improve survival versus chemotherapy (11.1 v 10.6 months, HR 0.87, p = 0.41). The concept of accelerated approval is to grant early and conditional approval and access to drugs in diseases of unmet need, and that the decision to fully approve or revoke be made based on results of confirmato...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 7, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Revisiting options for improving results of breast reconstruction
This study is the first of its kind to provide patient-reported outcomes about fat grafting, and reflects a growing trend of incorporating patient-reported outcomes into clinical trials. Gaining a better understanding of outcomes from the patients’ perspective helps researchers and clinicians to design and deliver care that truly meets the personal preferences and treatment priorities of women diagnosed with breast cancer.
I’d like to thank my colleague Dr. Dhruv Singhal, a plastic surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, for his contributions to this post.
The post Revisiting options for improving resul...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 19, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ted A. James, MD Tags: Breast Cancer Health Women's Health Source Type: blogs
SamanTree Medical ’s Histolog Scanner: Interview with CEO Bastien Rachet
The objective was to propose an accurate image-based assessment, working directly with the fresh surgical resection and not requiring specialized staff.
The second challenge is the time and consequently ease of use, as surgeon’s and OR time are key factors in patient safety and treatment cost.
Therefore, our solution shall provide access to high-resolution microscopy without requiring the processing of the sample onto microscope slides.
There’s a broad continuum of image resolution through the spectrum of imaging techniques, but when it comes to subcellular resolution for tissue morphology inspection, good imaging qual...
Source: Medgadget - December 12, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Exclusive Pathology Surgery Source Type: blogs
BMC “Research in Progress” photo competition – 4 weeks to go!
The overall winner of the competition will receive a cash prize of £250 (~ €300/$325), while the runner-up will receive £100 (~€125/$150).
Winning images will also be promoted on the BMC website and our promotional materials.
Anyone interested in research and photography can enter from anywhere in the world and we’re looking for entries in the following categories:
People at work
Close-ups of equipment
Plants and animals
Microscopy
To help provide some inspiration we’re highlighting some of the winning entries from our Breast cancer research image competition
Overall Winner – Rainbow Kaleidoscope by Ansel ...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - August 4, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Davy Falkner Tags: Open Access Publishing Source Type: blogs
Deletion of Gene Enhancer DNA Improves Cancer Resistance in Mice with No Apparent Loss of Normal Tissue Function
The path to effective control of cancer involves finding common mechanisms that target many different types of cancer, departing from the present approach of one costly project for every subtype of cancer. Here, researchers undertake a novel approach to the challenge, finding a sizable region of the genome that can be deleted in mice with no apparent loss of normal function. The deletion improves cancer resistance to a degree that makes suppression of the contents of this region of the genome worth pursuing as the basis for therapies that might control many types of cancer.
Our cells each contain close to 20,000 g...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 6, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Health Insurance Benefits Should Be Equitable, Not Necessarily Equal
As policy makers grapple with potentially undoing or modifying the largest expansion of health insurance in a generation, the cost and generosity of benefits hold center stage. Traditional underpinnings of insurance plans—premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance—frequently create barriers to the optimal use of these plans by consumers. They also can exacerbate inequities in health care, by inhibiting the use of services known to benefit health. Novel approaches to insurance plan design to produce a more equitable and efficient distribution of health care expenditures are warranted.
Following the princ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - May 22, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Betsy Q. Cliff, Michael Rozier and A. Mark Fendrick Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Health Equity Insurance and Coverage health insurance benefits insurance plan design value-based insurance design Source Type: blogs
Wisdom…
…the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.
I read today a collection of words that exude wisdom. I share it with you because the purpose of this blog is to do create value through education.
Peggy Girshman was an award-winning health journalist. When ill with a life-limiting illness, she wrote her own eulogy. NPR published it today after her death.
Must-read is an overused phrase, but it modifies perfectly her words. Here are a few excerpts, with my thoughts.
Work-Life Balance: Though Girshman wished she could have worked longer, “to convince someone I was right,” she also wished she...
Source: Dr John M - May 9, 2016 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr John Source Type: blogs
Designing Successful Bundled Payment Initiatives
Bundled payment initiatives are a growing form of value-based payment. The use of bundled payments can align reimbursement with the health care triple aim of improving experience of care, improving population health, and reducing total costs of care. Successful bundled payment initiatives have demonstrated an ability to both lower costs and improve health care quality.
However, bundled payments also change financial incentives because the model shifts risk from payers to providers. This may result in unintended consequences, including underutilization of needed but costly services or avoiding caring for the sickest patient...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - April 20, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Michael Ciarametaro and Robert Dubois Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Insurance and Coverage Medicare Payment Policy Population Health Quality Bundled Payments chronic disease High-Cost Patients triple aim Source Type: blogs
