American Cancer Society Journals

🎙️ New CancerSpeak episode alert! This episode dives into recent advances in #CervicalCancer treatment and research: https://lnkd.in/eN6PqjxK In this episode, Dr. Linda Duska joins host Dr. Akinyemi Ojesina and special guest Linda Ryan, a cervical cancer survivor and patient advocate, to discuss the latest breakthroughs in cervical cancer treatment. They explore the uniqueness of the SHAPE surgical de-escalation trial, the importance of increasing racial and geographical diversity in clinical trials, and key takeaways for patients with cervical cancer and their families. 📽 Hear a sound clip from Linda Ryan below, who shares her powerful story of participating in clinical trials and how they saved her life. 📗 Access the recent #OpenAccess publication by Dr. Linda Duska et al in Cancer, "Top advances of the year: Cervical cancer" https://lnkd.in/eRjByE-M #gyncsm #cervicalcancerresearch #cervicalcancersurvivor #clinicaltrials Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD William Dahut OncoAlert

Targeted therapy plays an important role for patients with early and advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer carrying specific genetic alterations. In this video, Dr. Maisam Makarem and Dr. Pasi Jänne of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute break down the latest advances in targeted therapy for lung cancer. Learn more about the latest advances in targeted therapy for lung cancer: https://lnkd.in/eH9wd_aN OncoAlert American Cancer Society #lungcancer #lungcancerresearch #targetedtherapy

Thank you to ACS Journals Partner OncoAlert for highlighting the recent article by Dr. Habtamu Mellie Bizuayehu (PhD, Epidemiology) focusing on the global cancer burden among men. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/essGhmfv

Just published in Cancer 📗 Global study predicts increases in cancer cases and deaths among men, with widening disparities based on age and countries’ economic status https://lnkd.in/eGhWmCxY In an analysis of 30 cancer types among men, investigators uncovered substantial disparities in cancer cases and deaths by age and countries’ economic status—disparities that are projected to widen by 2050. The research reveals an urgent need to address these trends and ensure equity in cancer prevention and care among men globally. “A national and international collaboration, as well as a coordinated multisectoral approach, are essential to improve current cancer outcomes and to reverse the anticipated rise in cancer burden by 2050. Implementing and expanding universal health coverage and expanding health infrastructure and establishing publicly funded medical schools and scholarships for training medical and public health staff can improve cancer care and equity,” said lead author Dr. Habtamu Mellie Bizuayehu (PhD, Epidemiology), of The University of Queensland, in Australia. “Emphasis should be placed on low and medium human development index countries with high unmet cancer service needs despite a significant cancer burden.” 

Just published in CANCER 📗 New research co-authored by Dr Jingxuan Zhao and Dr Leticia Nogueira of the American Cancer Society reveals that exposure to particulate matter consisting of fine particles measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5), a component of air pollution, was significantly associated with worse overall survival among children with cancer, even at levels below EPA air quality standards. These results underscore the importance of setting appropriate air quality standards to protect the health of this sensitive population. Read the full study: https://lnkd.in/eKC935X2 OncoAlert #airpollution #cancersurvivorship #childhoodcancer

As a young girl, Dr Heather Wakelee, deputy director of the Stanford Cancer Institute and division chief of medical oncology at Stanford University knew that she wanted to be a physician. Starting from her time in medical school, she felt particularly drawn to oncology, as she thought that she could provide the kind of continuous support needed by people grappling with such a serious illness. “To be an oncologist, you need to see yourself as someone who can keep going and not lose yourself in all that sadness, and be able to provide hope and support,” she says. For more than 20 years, Dr. Wakelee has served in multiple functions, including developing research programs in lung cancer and thymoma that include clinical trials and population science approaches. Read our latest issue of CancerScope: First Person Profile to learn more about Dr. Wakelee's impact in the field: https://lnkd.in/eGKBmS5z

Just published in Cancer 📗 Isolation, discrimination, and feeling “constant guilt”: A mixed-methods analysis of female physicians’ experience with fertility, family planning, and oncology careers https://lnkd.in/eaBbGkWd Authored by Sarah W. Marion, Shraddha M. Dalwadi MD, MBA, Aleksandra Kuczmarska-Haas MD, Erin F. Gillespie MD, Michelle Ludwig MD, PhD, Emma B. Holliday MD, Bridgette Thom PhD, Fumiko Ladd Chino MD, and Anna Lee MD, MPH Abstract Introduction Family planning among female physicians is harmed by high risks of infertility, workload burden, poor family leave policies, and gender discrimination. Many women report feeling unsupported in the workplace, despite national policies to protect against unfair treatment. Methods This secondary analysis applied a modified version of the rigorous and accelerated data reduction technique to conduct a thematic analysis of comments to an open-ended prompt. Comments were coded by multiple trained researchers then grouped and merged into illustrative themes via qualitative techniques. Results Of 1004 responses to the quantitative survey, 162 physicians completed the open-ended prompt. Initial codes (n = 16) were combined into eight groups including, from which three overarching themes were identified. Institutional barriers were highlighted with comments discussing the increased need for parental leave, part-time options and the concern for academic or professional punishment for being pregnant and/or having children. Departmental barriers were explored with comments grouped around codes of discrimination/negative culture and challenges with breastfeeding/pumping and childcare. Personal barriers were discussed in themes highlighting the difficulties that female physicians faced around the timing of family planning, challenges with reproductive health and assistance, and alternative circumstances and/or decisions against family planning. Conclusion Barriers to family planning in oncology exist across career domains from dysfunctional maternity leave to poor education on infertility risk. Solutions include improving institutional support, expanding parental leave, and general cultural change to improve awareness and promotion of family and career balance. #WomenInMedicine OncoAlert

How do physicians and patients decide on thyroid nodule treatment amidst diagnostic uncertainty? 🤔🔬 Dr. Pamela Hartzband of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center discusses how risk stratification, molecular testing, and patient values shape treatment decisions in Cancer Cytopathology's latest edition of Clinician's Corner. https://lnkd.in/e3Fq3zGk #CytoPath #ENTPath

Just published in Cancer 📗 Out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic testing following abnormal prostate cancer screening among privately insured men https://lnkd.in/eErgFyQS Authored by Arnav Srivastava MD, MPH of the University of Michigan, Anca Tilea MA, David D. Kim PhD, Vanessa K. Dalton MD, MPH, and A. Mark Fendrick MD Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening aims to identify men who may harbor potentially lethal prostate cancer, and those with high PSA results often require more extensive (and expensive) diagnostic testing to establish a diagnosis. New research reveals that the out-of-pocket costs for such additional tests are substantial, common, and rising. Abnormal screening tests (i.e., elevated PSA) warrant additional testing involving magnetic resonance imaging and/or prostate biopsies. High out-of-pocket costs for these tests—including copayment, coinsurance, and deductibles—may not only place a substantial burden on patients, but also may deter patients from going through with recommended screening. To investigate the extent of such financial burdens, researchers analyzed information on 3,075,841 US privately insured men ages 55–69 years old who underwent PSA screening in 2010–2020. Among these men, 91,850 had a second PSA test and an elevated PSA, of which 40,329 (43.9%) underwent subsequent diagnostic testing. Among the men who underwent subsequent testing, more than 75% experienced out-of-pocket costs. The median out-of-pocket costs rose substantially over the years of the study for patients undergoing biopsy only ($79 to $214), imaging only ($81 to $490), and imaging plus biopsy ($353 to $620). In 2023, the American Cancer Society published a statement asserting that cancer screening is a multistep process, stressing that payers must eliminate out-of-pocket costs for all necessary diagnostic tests. “In the context of prostate cancer, this means that insurance companies should provide full coverage for imaging, prostate biopsy, and other recommended testing, if indicated by an abnormal prostate cancer screening test,” said lead author Arnav Srivastava, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. “We have seen this strategy successfully implemented in colorectal cancer screening, as part of a new addition to the Affordable Care Act. Thus, we recommend that policymakers and insurance companies offer full coverage for testing throughout the screening pathway and eliminate cost-sharing for patients.”

Just published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 📕 Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States, 2019 https://lnkd.in/egQ7cfED This new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society finds four in 10 cancer cases and about one-half of all cancer deaths in adults 30 years old and older in the United States (or 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019) could be attributed to modifiable risk factors, including cigarette smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet, and infections. Cigarette smoking was by far the leading risk factor, contributing to nearly 20% of all cancer cases and 30% of all cancer deaths. “Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming. This finding underscores the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in each state to promote smoking cessation, as well as heightened efforts to increase screening for early detection of lung cancer, when treatment could be more effective,” said Dr. Farhad Islami, senior scientific director, cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release. Emily Marlow Blake Thomson Harriet Rumgay Susan Gapstur Alpa Patel Isabelle Soerjomataram Ahmedin Jemal