Cancer Research Lab

A prediction model designed for use in men with low volume/low grade prostate cancer has been successfully validated, researchers report in the March issue of the Journal of Urology.

Early detection protocols may lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of tumors with volumes less than 0.5 cc, the absence of Gleason grade 4 or 5 and with organ-confined disease, Dr. R. J. Babaian of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston and colleagues note.

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Following surgery for colon cancer, colonoscopy is useful in detecting recurrence and other cancer and adenomas, and is tied to improved survival, researchers report in the March issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

“The results of our study provide additional evidence that colorectal cancer survivors benefit from surveillance with colonoscopy,” lead investigator Dr. Stephen J. Rulyak said.

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“Conditional survival” is a more accurate way to portray prognosis for cancer patients than is a typical actuarial table, physicians report in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology for March.

Historically, survival has been estimated based on risk at diagnosis, Dr. Samuel J. Wang and his associates note, whereas conditional survival takes into account patients’ declining risk over time.

So if a patient is still alive 3 years after diagnosis, his chances of continued survival are better than they were during the first year, Dr. Wang, from the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, and his associates explain.

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Carbohydrate intake, glycemic index, and glycemic load are not associated with the incidence of endometrial cancer, according to findings published in the March issue of the International Journal of Cancer. However, among overweight women with low physical activity, high carbohydrate intake and high glycemic load may increase the risk of this disease.

“Evidence is accumulating that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are involved in the etiology of endometrial cancer,” Dr. Susanna C. Larsson and colleagues from Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, write. “Obesity, physical inactivity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus are all associated with insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and endometrial cancer.”

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A Web-based reminder system can significantly increase mammography screening rates among eligible women, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine for March 26.

Screening mammography is currently recommended every one to two years for women age 40 and older. However, recent reports suggest that a large proportion of eligible women, perhaps the majority, do not undergo screening.

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The presence of one or more hairs in a pigmented lesion does not guarantee that it is benign, according to a report in the March Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

“The presence of hair in a pigmented lesion should not automatically mean that the lesion under investigation is benign,” Dr. Ashfaq A. Marghoob from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York said. “One needs to evaluate the primary morphology of the lesion in question and base one’s decision on that.”

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Urine testing for the prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3) is more accurate than serum PSA testing in predicting the result of repeat prostate biopsy, according to a report in the March 27th issue of Urology.

Men with elevated PSA levels, but negative prostate biopsy results present a diagnostic dilemma, lead author Dr. Leonard S. Marks, from the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues note. Watchful waiting with serial PSA testing is often employed, but this can create anxiety and may also result in unnecessary medical procedures.

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