Men aged 55 to 74 years who have low baseline blood levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) are not likely to benefit from further screening and treatment. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed jou…
Compliance with practice guideline-recommended treatment for cirrhosis is associated with a reduction in first esophageal variceal hemorrhage (EVH; bleeding), according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal…
New cervical smear tests are unreliable and should not replace conventional tests (PAP smears) according to a study in this week’s British Medical Journal. Researchers in France studied 828 women referred to hospital because abnormalities had been detected on previous smears and 1,757 women attending for routine smears.
Each woman underwent a conventional cervical smear test. The remaining material was then tested using two new methods (monolayer cytology and human papillomavirus testing). These tests are replacing conventional smear tests in several countries.
Surveying patients who were screened for colorectal cancer, investigators at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis found that most prefer “virtual” colonoscopy to traditional screening, but most had positive appraisals of both. Patients didn’t, however, like the bowel preparation prior to either screening test.
A relatively brief screening test can give caregivers a good indication of which cancer survivors are emotionally distressed and may benefit from further psychological evaluation, according to new research by a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators. In a study in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers found that childhood cancer survivors whose screening scores indicated they were dissatisfied with their physical appearance, were in poor physical health, or had been treated with head radiation had an increased risk of experiencing psychological distress.