My goal is to educate clinicians and the public on developments in oncology to ensure effective patient-physician dialogue in this era of medical information data mining. Topics include the identification of markers with actual clinical utility according to modern science rather than traditional methods; exposing barriers to screening options; raising awareness regarding at-risk populations; and investigating the true causes behind patient noncompliance with preventive efforts.
‘Stop Scaring Patients’: How Esophageal Cancer Evolves: Clinicians need to be aware of outdated cancer screening methods that bear no clinical utility, serving only to terrify patients who see cancer as a single disease synonymous with death. The fly in the soup of early cancer detecti neoplastic evolution. Until now, scientists have believed that cancer develops as a gradual and linear process. However, new research supports a new model of cancer evolution as a dynamic, stochastic process that occurs over a discrete period of time. The resulting paradox – overdiagnosis of indolent conditions while underdiagnosing fatal disease – is one I began addressing with the issue of Barrett’s esophagitis and progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma. I will continue to explore this theme in 2014 – thus far my coverage has included breast cancer, colon cancer, and gastric cancer.
Universal Access to Virtual Colonoscopy May Be on the Horizon: Virtual colonoscopy, also known as CT colonography (CTC), was first endorsed as a screening tool in 2008 by the American Cancer Society, the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, and the American College of Radiology. Although patients still need to prep, the test can be done cheaply on an outpatient basis with no need for anesthesia – and its just as effective as regular colonoscopy. However, GI docs did not want to give up doing colonoscopies (or the money involved) — and so patients fell through the cracks in terms of access, even as colorectal screening rates continue to decline.
Specific Occupations Linked to Aggressive Prostate Cancer: Long-haul truck drivers and garden supply shop workers may represent a population at higher risk for aggressive prostate cancer, something clinicians should keep in mind when seeing patients: ask them where they work. HPV Vaccine Works, but Many American Parents Still Squeamish April 23, 2013 Although Australia has experienced a 92.6% decline in new genital warts cases among young women since HPV vaccination was mandated 6 years ago, fear trumps science for American parents who are convinced that vaccination confers a license for promiscuity, and therefore prefer to wait until the child is older, when antibody response may be suboptimal.