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Cancer Research News
UF Health study provides guidance to avoid unnecessary thyroid biopsies
The number of people diagnosed with thyroid cancer has more than quadrupled in the last 40 years, even as the disease’s death rate remained relatively unchanged.
It is a classic case of disease overdiagnosis, with little resulting benefit for many patients, said University of Florida Health endocrinologist Naykky Singh Ospina, M.D., an assistant professor in the UF College of Medicine’s division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism and a member of the UF Health Cancer Center. READ MORE
Coronavirus 2019: What People With Cancer Need to Know
By Merry Jennifer Markham, M.D., FACP, interim chief of the UF Division of Hematology & Oncology, an associate professor in the UF department of medicine, and the associate director for medical affairs at the UF Health Cancer Center
Coronavirus disease 2019 (or COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused by a novel (or new) coronavirus that was first identified in an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause mild illnesses, such as the common cold, to more severe diseases, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Because the novel coronavirus is related to the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), it has been named SARS-CoV-2. READ MORE
Dr. Gibbs on the lack of treatment options in sarcoma
C. Parker Gibbs Jr, M.D., Eugene L. Jewett professor of orthopaedic surgery, chief medical officer at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital and division chief of orthopaedic oncology in the University of Florida College of Medicine, discusses the lack of treatment options for patients with soft tissue and bone sarcomas. READ MORE
Gastrointestinal Patient-Reported Outcomes
Anamaria R. Yeung, M.D., is the corresponding author for the Journal of Clinical Oncology article.
In an analysis from the NRG Oncology RTOG 1203 study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Yeung et al found improved patient-reported gastrointestinal toxicity with intensity-modulated radiotherapy vs standard radiotherapy among patients with cervical or endometrial cancer requiring postoperative radiotherapy. The analysis also showed that clinicians underreported gastrointestinal adverse events compared with patients. READ MORE
NSABP B-42 Trial 10-Year Update: Impact of Extended Letrozole on Disease-Free Survival
“In the 10-year analysis of the NSABP B-42 trial, the effect of extended treatment with 5 years of letrozole on disease-free survival persisted and reached statistical significance. There was no significant improvement in overall survival with letrozole, but letrozole continued to provide a significant improvement in breast cancer–free interval and distant recurrence,” said Terry P. Mamounas, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of the Comprehensive Breast Program at Orlando Health University of Florida Health Cancer Center, and chair of the NRG Oncology Breast Committee. READ MORE
COVID-19: Older Patients With Cancer Especially Vulnerable
“Oncology clinicians are well versed in caring for immunosuppressed patients with cancer, of all ages,” Merry Jennifer Markham, M.D., FACP, interim chief of the Division of Hematology & Oncology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, told Medscape Medical News. READ MORE
Announcements
U.S. News “Best Hospitals” survey
We’re calling on our members to watch for and respond immediately if invited to vote for UF Health Shands in the U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” survey.
Instructions:
- Physicians who are board-certified in one of the 16 adult or 10 pediatric specialties eligible for voting and who have “claimed” Doximity profiles will be invited to take the five-minute survey. If you have a claimed profile on the site, you will receive notification on Doximity.com, as well as via the email address with which you registered, asking you to vote online to identify the nation’s best hospitals in your specialty. We know many of you have already received the email invitation to vote and others will receive it within the next week.
- Please respond to the invitation: Vote for UF Health Shands Hospital and contribute to our reputation score. Nominations are weighted along with documented outcomes and other quality indicators, resulting in the national rankings of these specialties among the country’s top hospitals.
Visit the Bridge at https://Bridge.UFHealth.org/hospitalrankings/ to learn more about the voting process, UF Health’s official podcast, how you can earn CME credits and to see the rankings from the last two years.
UF Health MedEdCast
The official podcast of UF Health provides engaging insight on today’s trending health care topics. Earn CME credits while learning about clinical issues and research advances from experts at UF Health Shands Hospital, one of the nation’s top academic health centers. Subscribe to UF Health MedEd Cast and join the conversation!
Free professional portrait
UF Health Creative Services offers open studio hours at Communicore C2-20 every month. Simply stop by during one of the time slots listed on the bottom of their webpage — there’s no need to sign up beforehand, and it only takes five minutes! Here are some of the upcoming sessions:
- 4/02 | 3-4 p.m.
- 4/13 | 9-10 a.m.
- 4/15 | 3-4 p.m.
- 4/28 | 9-10 a.m.
- 4/30 | 3-4 p.m.
- 5/11 | 9-10 a.m.
- 5/13 | 3-4 p.m.
- 5/26 | 9-10 a.m.
- 5/28 | 3-4 p.m.