JCO - the Art of Oncology series: Ars Brevis

 Ars longa, vita brevis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ars longa, vita brevis is a Latin translation of an aphorism coming originally from Greek. The Latin quote is often rendered in English as Art is long, Life is short.
The aphorism quotes the first two lines of the Aphorismi by the Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. The familiar Latin translation Ars longa, vita brevis reverses the order of the original lines.

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 JCO: the Art of Oncology (series)

"“Good morning. How may I help you?” The receptionist
had a warm, welcoming voice and a pleasant smile.
“I have an appointment with Dr Black.”
“Thank you. Please check in.”
Lily placed her hand on the glass palm scanner.
“Welcome, ma’am. Your appointment is confirmed
for 9AM. Here is your patient number: 6-19-
1126. You are 12 minutes early. Would you like a
cup of coffee?” ..........
 
".......Immediately, the algorithm for breaking bad news inside the
DOCTOR branched, the appropriate comforting response was retrieved,
and the appointment cycle for the day was adjusted by 48 seconds.
“There, there…” it began, but Lily had already stopped listening.
When it was finished, Dr Black’s faceplate changed to a sad smile,
lingered a moment, and then returned to neutral.
 “Good day.”
The DOCTOR rotated and rolled out the door. 9:05
AM; how efficient."

Alcohol Consumption Has No Impact on Breast Cancer Survival

Alcohol Consumption Has No Impact on Breast Cancer Survival

Editorial: The European Heritage of Folk Medicines and Medicinal Foods: Its Contribution to the CAMs of Tomorrow

open access

Journaling your way through cancer - Cancerwise

Cancer blog from MD Anderson Cancer Center

New genetic link found between normal fetal growth and cancer, April 9, 2013 News Release - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

 NIH study identifies a protein that helps trigger both processes........

Research: (medical residents) Reduced duty hours do not affect quality of care

medical news

"Restructuring work hours for first-year medical residents to accommodate a 2011 duty hour limit of no more than 16 shift hours substantially increases patient handovers, but doesn't significantly affect efficiency and quality of care among medical inpatients, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study has found.
A separate Vanderbilt research report also shows that the reduced duty hours don't negatively affect the quality of the intern's education.....

Newsroom : Cancer Drug System Quality Assurance Review

Newsroom
 Backgrounder

Cancer Drug System Quality Assurance Review

April 9, 2013 4:30 pm

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

"Dr. Jake Thiessen has been appointed to lead an independent review of quality assurance within Ontario's cancer drug supply chain. 
Dr. Thiessen is the Founding Director of the University of Waterloo's School of Pharmacy.  He is a former professor and associate dean at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. He earned his B.Sc. (Pharm) degree from the University of Manitoba, and went on to complete a M.Sc. at Manitoba and a Ph.D. at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Thiessen's research interests have included new approaches in cancer treatment and new molecules to treat patients with iron overload.
He has broadened his experience and shared his expertise through work with the Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee of the Ontario Ministry of Health, Health Canada's Scientific Advisory Committee on Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacology and the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs."

Amorfix announces breakthrough scientific discovery and provides update for its ovarian cancer therapeutic antibody program - Press Release - Digital Journal

Amorfix  - Press Release 

TORONTO, April 9, 2013 /CNW/ - Amorfix Life Sciences announced today it has completed a study that shows that the treatment of cancer cells with chemotherapeutic agents increases the amount of misfolded prion protein at the cell surface, and the subsequent binding of anti-prion protein antibodies.  The increased expression is specific to tumor cells and is not seen on normal ovarian cells.  In addition, the Company reports the completion of the first in a series of studies with its anti-misfolded prion protein antibody in animal models of ovarian cancer with promising preliminary results on reducing tumor volume.....

AACR: Antibody-Drug Conjugate (DMUC5754A/MUC16) Shows Promise in Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer - Cancer Network

AACR

Roche immune therapy cancer drug (MPDL320A) shows promise in early study | Reuters

Reuters


(Reuters) - An experimental drug that spurs the immune system to fight cancer appeared to be safe and demonstrated anti-tumor activity against a variety of cancers in a small early stage study, researchers said on Tuesday.
The drug, called MPDL320A, was discovered and is being developed by Roche's Genentech unit. The Phase 1 trial of the drug in 30 patients with advanced cancer was designed as a dose escalation study to test for toxicity at higher doses.
But researchers were also pleased to find early signs of effectiveness of the drug.
"We saw clear evidence of anti-tumor activity in a broad range of diagnoses, including lung cancer, kidney cancer, colon cancer and gastric cancer," said Dr. Michael Gordon, who presented the data on Tuesday at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington, D.C......

Many medical journals lack ghostwriting policies | Reuters

Reuters

Breast Cancer: Outcomes Vary by BRCA Subtype

BRCA Subtype

Values and options in cancer care (VOICE): study design and rationale for a patient-centered communication and decision-making intervention for physicians, patients with advanced cancer, and their caregivers

open access

 Methods/design
The Values and Options in Cancer Care (VOICE) Study is a National Cancer Institute sponsored randomized controlled trial conducted in the Rochester/Buffalo, NY and Sacramento, CA regions. A total of 40 oncologists, approximately 400 patients with advanced cancer, and their family/friend caregivers (one per patient, when available) are
expected to enroll in the study. Drawing upon ecological theory, the intervention uses a twopronged approach: oncologists complete a multifaceted tailored educational intervention involving standardized patient instructors (SPIs), and patients and caregivers complete a
coaching intervention to facilitate prioritizing and discussing questions and concerns. Followup data will be collected approximately quarterly for up to three years.

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.

April 18th: Anemia and Cancer: ESAs in 2013: review of recent publications

Anemia and Cancer

e-grandround GR240 - 18 April 2013 - 18:15-19:00 CET

Expert: Matti Aapro, IMO Clinique de Genolier, Genolier, Switzerland
Discussant: Pere Gascon, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain


The live session starts in about 9 days

HE4 Tissue Expression in Borderline Ovarian Tumors: A Pilot Study by the Tumorbank Ovarian Cancer Network

Abstract

Aim: Our purpose was to analyze the tissue expression of human epididymis protein-4 (HE4) in borderline tumors of the ovary (BOT) and to correlate it with histological subtypes and clinical features.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Tumor tissue samples from 25 patients with BOT were stained on tissue microarrays. The percentage of stained tumor cells was represented by grouped immunoreactivity scores (IRS) 0 to 4.

RESULTS:

The median patient age was 47 (range=22-73) years. Tumors in most patients (19/25) were staged-FIGO I and presented serous (52%) or mucinous (40%) histology. HE4 immunoreactivity occurred exclusively within the tumor cells. No association between grouped IRS and histological type, age, CA125 and FIGO stage was found. Correlation between HE4 positivity cells and HE4 IRS was significant (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION:

The role of HE4 in BOT remains unclear. Multicenter surveys are needed to more profoundly help in the understanding of the biological and clinical features of BOT.

Patient Advocacy - survey

The following survey is to try to learn how many people are doing work in patient safety advocacy and what some of the trends are that people and / or groups are showing.  
 
Please help by completing this information AND sharing it where you think others may be able to help gather important information. 

https://www.research.net/s/patientsafetyadvocate
Thank you!

TIME, TIME Warner ethical questions raised in cancer coverage

Tubal ligation and risk of ovarian cancer subtypes: a pooled analysis of case-control studies

Abstract

Background Tubal ligation is a protective factor for ovarian cancer, but it is unknown whether this protection extends to all invasive histological subtypes or borderline tumors. We undertook an international collaborative study to examine the association between tubal ligation and ovarian cancer subtypes.

Methods We pooled primary data from 13 population-based case-control studies, including 10 157 patients with ovarian cancer (7942 invasive; 2215 borderline) and 13 904 control women. Invasive cases were analysed by histological type, grade and stage, and borderline cases were analysed by histological type. Pooled odds ratios were estimated using conditional logistic regression to match on site, race/ethnicity and age categories, and to adjust for age, oral contraceptive use duration and number of full-term births.

Results Tubal ligation was associated with significantly reduced risks of invasive serous (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.74-0.89; P < 0.001), endometrioid (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.40-0.59; P < 0.001), clear cell (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.40-0.67; P < 0.001) and mucinous (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52-0.89; P = 0.005) cancers. The magnitude of risk reduction was significantly greater for invasive endometrioid (P < 0.0001) and clear cell (P = 0.0018) than for serous cancer. No significant associations were found with borderline serous or mucinous tumours.

Conclusions We found that the protective effects of tubal ligation on ovarian cancer risk were subtype-specific. These findings provide insights into distinct aetiologies of ovarian cancer subtypes and mechanisms underlying the protective effects of tubal ligation.

Ovarian Cancer Slowed by Drug Conjugate (DMUC5754A)

Medpage

Action Points

• Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
• More than 20% of selected patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer had objective responses to an antibody-drug conjugate (DMUC5754A) targeting a protein common to most ovarian tumors.
• Note that DMUC5754A was well tolerated, most adverse events were grade 1/2 severity, and fatigue was the most common grade 3/4 adverse event.

Reports of junk DNA's 'demise' were based on junky logic and dubious definitions | Science & Society | Science News

Science News

A narrative literature review of older people's cancer pain experience

abstract

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

To synthesise current evidence about the experience of older people with cancer pain and consider how exploration of this may inform clinical practice and research.

BACKGROUND:

Cancer is more prevalent in older age. Evidence suggests that older people's pain is generally under-recognised and under treated. Pain is a significant concern for many people living and dying with cancer and may be of particular concern for older people who may have complex biopsychosocial needs. There is mounting evidence that older people and their families experience high level of unmet need generally and suboptimal pain in particular.

DESIGN:

Narrative literature review.

Higher U.S. Branded Drug Prices and Spending Compared to Other Countries May Stem Partly from Quick Uptake of New Drugs - The Commonwealth Fund

The Commonwealth Fund

Key Findings

• Over the past decade (2000–10), total prescription drug spending rose significantly in Canada (84%), the U.S. (81%), and Germany (79%). Other OECD countries had small rates of increase.
• Per capita drug spending on prescription drugs in 2010 was higher in the U.S. than in all other nations and was twice the level in the U.K., the lowest spender.
• Prices for brand-name drugs were 5 percent to 117 percent higher in the U.S. than in the other countries in all three study years (except in 2005 in Switzerland and Germany). These differences may not reflect price discounts negotiated by U.S. payers

About the Study

The study examined prices and spending for brand-name drugs in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 2005, 2007, and 2010, using the Intercontinental Medical Statistics Midas database. It focused on brand-name drugs that had the highest combined sales in 2010 and were available in all of the study countries—37 products in all. In addition to this core sample, the researchers examined prices and spending for seven new products in 2007 and eight new products in 2010, which enabled analysis of the effect of new product introduction and uptake. One limitation of this analysis is that it may not take into account negotiated price discounts in the U.S.

Worry about one's own children, psychological well-being, and interest in psychosocial intervention

Abstract

Technique finds software bugs in surgical robots and helps developers fix flaws, ensure safety

press release

Link between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome may be exaggerated

press release