– November 1, 2009
November 1, 2009
View Archives Issues
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Clinical Breast Exam as an Adjunct to Mammography
The role of clinical breast examination remains controversial. A review of data from the Ontario Breast Cancer Screening Program reveals that cancer detection rates and sensitivity were higher, as were the abnormal call rates and false positive rates among centers that offered CBE in addition to mammography compared to centers that offered mammography alone. -
Utility of the Bone-marrow Exam for Complete Remission in Myeloma
Formal criteria for a complete response (CR) in multiple myeloma (MM) require a bone-marrow (BM) examination showing < 5% plasma cells. It remains unclear whether a BM evaluation is necessary after normalization of the monoclonal (M) protein from the serum and/or urine by immunofixation. -
Subsets of Elderly AML Patients Respond Well to Chemotherapy
Approximately 5% of elderly patients will have translocation (8;21) or inversion (16) upon cytogenetic evaluation. In a retrospective review of the outcomes for 147 elderly (> 60 years), patients with one or the other of these changes, complete remission after aggressive induction therapy was achieved in 88%. Aggressive postremission therapy was associated with better leukemia-free survival, but optimal strategies for this subset of patients remain to be developed. -
Primary-care Dilemma: Diagnosing Ovarian Cancer at an Early Stage
Symptoms of ovarian cancer are often non-specific and commonly encountered in the community. In this case-control, retrospective review conducted in a primary care setting, seven symptoms were shown to have predictive value, often up to a year prior to diagnosis. -
Advanced Age and Gastroesophageal Cancer Surgery
In a series of 600 consecutive patients with gastroesophageal cancer, older patient age was associated with more frequent surgical complications and shorter overall survival. -
Clinical Briefs in Primary Care Supplement
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Pharmacology Watch
Depression and pregnancy, new vaccine recommendations from the CDC, cortico-steroids and/or antivirals for Bell's palsy, rasagiline and Parkinson's disease, and FDA Actions.