Articles

The US Department of Health and Human Services has expanded coverage of evidence-based tobacco cessation counseling for Medicare beneficiaries, making it possible for all smokers to receive counseling from a qualified physician or other Medicare-recognized practitioner who can help them quit smoking.

 

Previously, Medicare covered tobacco cessation counseling only for individuals with a diagnosed tobacco-related disease or with signs or symptoms of such a disease.

 

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurements at 2 years should capture the majority of low-risk cases that progress after treatment with radical prostatectomy, suggests a new study in the September issue of the Journal of Urology.

 

Adult women viewed the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine positively, but their decision to be vaccinated will likely be very influenced by the cost of the vaccine, according to a survey published in the August 19 issue of Sexual Health.

 

Addition of chemotherapy to radiotherapy improves survival in women with cervical cancer, results of an audit by Royal College of Radiologists suggests.

 

Dr Paul Symonds of the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and colleagues reviewed the case histories of 1412 women with cervical cancer who were treated at 42 United Kingdom cancer centers in 2001 to 2002 (Clin Oncol. 2010;22:590-601. Epub 2010 Jul 1).They compared recurrence, survival, and complications in patients who received radiotherapy alone or combined with cisplatin.

SAN FRANCISCO –An hour-long lecture by a fertility specialist during oncology grand rounds dramatically improves the rate of pretreatment sperm cryopreservation in young men with cancer, according to data presented at the American Urological Association (AUA) 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting.

 

The researchers, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, found that a single lecture by a urologist specializing in male infertility increased sperm cryopreservation in male cancer patients fourfold.

 

Reduced-intensity induction therapy with a bortezomib-based regimen followed by maintenance is safe and effective for older patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, a new study suggests.

 

The study by Maria-Victoria Mateos, MD, of University Hospital of Salamanca, Spain, and her colleagues, which was published online in The Lancet Oncology, showed that major responses to induction therapy were achieved in similar percentages of patients but serious toxicity was significantly reduced with less frequent dosing.

 

CT colonography (CTC) increased the odds of identifying high-risk lesions in patients undergoing colorectal cancer screening

 

“CTC not only identifies colorectal cancer but also doubles the yield of identifying significant early extracolonic lesions, resulting in lives saved,” according to the report in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

 

Researchers have identified the salt inducible kinase 2 (SIK2) gene, which plays a key role in regulating the onset of cell division, as a potential target for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

 

The findings, by researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, add to the growing evidence that combination therapies targeting different phases of the cancer cell division cycle are needed for optimal treatment.

 

SAN DIEGO – Cancer patients at high risk for bone loss due to their disease or its management may want to go easy on the diet cola consumption. New data presented at the Endocrine Society’s 92nd annual meeting and expo suggest that drinking diet colas on a regular basis may be associated with a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) and an increased fracture risk.

 

SAN FRANCISCO—Italian researchers have found that delivering a single dose of intravesical chemotherapy preoperatively may be a better approach than postoperative chemotherapy for improving a patient’s risk of recurrence of non–muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).