Many Doctors Not Using Colon Cancer Test Properly
Title: Many Doctors Not Using Colon Cancer Test Properly Category: Health News Created: 4/15/2010 12:10:00 PM Last Editorial Review: 4/16/2010
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Many Doctors Not Using Colon Cancer Test Properly
Possible Ovarian Cancer Treatment Target Identified
“Ovarian cancer is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage when it is incurable, and the same treatments have been used for virtually all patients,” says Michael Birrer, MD, PhD, director of medical gynecologic oncology in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center, the study’s corresponding author. “Previous research from my lab indicated that different types and grades of ovarian tumors should be treated differently, and this paper now shows that even papillary serous tumors have differences that impact patient prognosis.” Birrer was with the National Institutes of Health when this study began and joined the MGH Cancer Center.
The fifth most common malignancy among U.S. women, ovarian cancer is expected to cause close to 15,000 deaths during 2009. Accounting for 60 percent of ovarian cancers, papillary serous tumors are typically diagnosed after spreading beyond the ovaries. The tumors typically return after initial treatment with surgery and chemotherapy, but while some patients die a few months after diagnosis, others may survive five years or longer while receiving treatment.
» Read more: Possible Ovarian Cancer Treatment Target Identified
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Breast Cancer More Lethal Among Young Black Women
A recent study released in Chicago in early-August this year said that young black women with breast cancer were “far more likely” to get a more lethal and aggressive form of cancer compared to white women. The study covered a total of 496 women below the age of 55 who had been diagnosed with breast cancer from 1993 to 1996.
The study suggested that biology could provide some answers as to why black women were afflicted with deadlier forms of breast cancer than their white counterparts. Previous studies said the difference may have been due to inadequate screening rates.
» Read more: Breast Cancer More Lethal Among Young Black Women