oncology Tag

04 Jun

Posted at 18:12h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, MD Anderson

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42120" align="alignleft" width="183"] Dr. Sood[/caption] Dr. Anil K. Sood M.D. Professor and Vice Chair for Translational Research in the Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology and co-director of the Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA MD Anderson Cancer Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cancer survivorship...

09 Apr

Posted at 23:13h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Pharmaceutical Companies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_41105" align="alignleft" width="133"]Aaron Mitchell, MD Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine,  Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil Dr. Mitchell[/caption] Aaron Mitchell, MD Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Financial relationships between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry are very common. However, we are just beginning to figure out whether these relationships may lead to potentially concerning changes in physician behavior - whether physicians tend to prescribe more of the drugs made by a company that has given them money. We decided to ask whether oncologists who receive money from drugmakers are more likely to use the cancer drugs made by companies that have given them money in the past. In studying two specific groups of cancer drugs, one for kidney cancer and one for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), we found that oncologists who had received payments such as meals, consulting fees, travel & lodging expenses from the manufacturer of one of these drugs tended to use that drug more. When looking at oncologists who received payments for research, we found increased prescribing among the kidney cancer drugs but not the CML drugs.

30 Sep

Posted at 16:22h in Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Education
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_28448" align="alignleft" width="120"]Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, FACP Medical Director of the Women's Cancer Center University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Dr. Adam Brufsky[/caption] Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, FACP Medical Director of the Women's Cancer Center University of Pittsburgh Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
  • The Make Your Dialogue Count survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Novartis between June 20 and August 22, 2014. A total of 359 surveys were collected among women 21 years+ living with advanced breast cancer in addition to 234 caregivers of women with advanced breast cancer and 252 licensed oncologists who treat at least five advanced breast cancer patients per month within the United States. Novartis conducted the survey with guidance from oncologists, patient advocacy experts and a psychologist to better understand the dialogue around treatment goals and decisions that takes place among advanced breast cancer patients, caregivers and oncologists.
  • Main survey findings show communication gaps exist in discussions between patients and oncologists, particularly around treatment plans and goals.
  • 89% of patients and 76% of oncologists said that it’s important or very important to discuss long-term treatment plans beyond the current recommended treatment at their initial advanced breast cancer diagnosis. Yet, 43% of patients reported that this did not take place.
  • 70% of patients and 65% of oncologists said that it’s important or very important to refer patients to support services at their initial advanced breast cancer diagnosis. Yet, only 36% of patients reported that this was something their doctor did.
  • 23% of oncologists said that at times their emotions have kept them from sharing certain information with their advanced breast cancer patients, and 27% of oncologists said that, in certain situations, they do not discuss with patients the fact that advanced breast cancer is incurable.

25 Aug

Posted at 17:36h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27281" align="alignleft" width="160"]Dr. Aaron Mitchell MD Hematology/Oncology Fellow University North Carolina Dr. Aaron Mitchell[/caption] Dr. Aaron Mitchell MD Hematology/Oncology Fellow University North Carolina MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is well known that many physicians work with the pharmaceutical industry. In some cases, this can create conflicts of interest with physicians' other responsibilities. The Open Payments law, passed as part of the Affordable Care Act, recently made these relationships public, which now allows us to study them more systematically.

20 Feb

Posted at 05:32h in Author Interviews, CT Scanning, Lancet, Medical Imaging, MRI, Pediatrics, Stanford
Dr Heike Daldrup-Link Associate Professor of Radiology Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo AltoMedicalResearch.com: Interview with: Dr Heike Daldrup-Link Associate Professor of Radiology Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We use magnetic resonance imaging, a technology based on magnetic fields rather than radiotracers or x-rays. The underlying technology is not new – it has been used for tumor staging for many years. This is an advantage as MR scanners are available in nearly every major Children’s Hospital where children with cancer are treated. What is new about our approach is that we combined anatomical and functional images, similar to current approaches that use radiotracers and CT (PET/CT):  We first acquired scans that showed the anatomy of the patient very well and we then acquired scans that depict tumors as bright spots with little or no background information. We did that by using an iron supplement as a contrast agent: The iron supplement can be detected by the MRI magnet and improved tumor detection and vessel delineation MR scans. We then fused the anatomical scans with the tumor scans.