Drug shows promise in prostate cancer spread to bone

University of Michigan Medical School professor of Internal Medicine and Urology Dr. David C. Smith led a study on the drug cabozantinib and its effects on patients with prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.

Bone scans were used on the patients to measure the effect of the drug; 12% saw complete uptake and about 66% showed improvement in their bone scans.

Cabozantinib is designed to work on tumors that spread to the bone, which historically are difficult to treat.  According to the study, a majority of patients saw a reduction in pain and some also reduced or eliminated narcotic painkillers after treatment.

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/12/09/drug-shows-promise-in-prostate-cancer-spread-to-bone/.

Tool to detect early-stage tumours

Emma Carland, PhD researcher at Swinburne University of Technology is developing a new way to detect cancer at an early stage.  Cancer still remains the leading cause of death in the world.  It is well known that the earlier a cancer is detected, the better chance a patient has to overcome it and move on with his or her life.

Carland was inspired by her work with children at The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.  She is developing a sensor made of optic fibers.  The tiny fiber basically pushes against tissues within the body.  The sensor tells the user whether the resistance from the tissue is "high" or "low." 

“A tumour is stiffer than cells from a healthy area,” Carland says. “So, the difference between the sensor’s signals tells you how stiff the tissue is — a diseased tissue, being firmer, will push back at the sensor with more force, resulting in a larger difference.”

Currently doctors take tissue samples and then test them for abnormalities.  Using this new device will allow medical staff to test small tissue regions and potentially identify any abnormal tissues.

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/12/11/tool-to-detect-early-stage-tumours/.

US facing drastic shortage of doctors

According to a new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine, the US will see a shortage of 52,000 primary care physicians (PCPs) by the year 2025.

This poses some problems, as PCPs have many benefits and are helpful to patients.   Since they see their patients regularly, patients avoid multiple tests or unnecessary ones by instead going to many specialists.  Costs are lower for the same reason.  Also, coordination of medications is easier since they all originate from the same place.

Medical students see the benefits of going into primary care; however, "When young people graduate from medical school $250,000 of debt and see they can make $150,000 a year as a primary care physician, or be a cardiologist and make $450,000 a year, which one do they pick?" says Dr. Perry Pungo, Vice President for Education at the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Medical students see the benefits of going into primary care, but feel, "disenfranchised by the whole process" says PJ Tiberio, a third year medical student at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.  Fighting with insurance companies, having lower reimbursement rates, and being pressured to increase the volume of patients by decreasing how long they are seen are some reasons medical students would prefer to specialize in other fields.

Primary care is valuable because of the, "holistic approach the doctor takes when assessing a patient’s health. Building a stable relationship with a primary care doctor can help a person head off chronic diseases that incur significant financial and quality-of-life costs," say medical professionals.

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/12/08/us-facing-drastic-shortage-of-doctors/.

New technology allows for quicker recovery time for hysterectomy patients

Dr. Thomas Payne, Director of Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery and Vattikuti Network Surgeon, discusses the benefits of using minimally invasive robotic surgery. 

The article features a patient who has a robotic hysterectomy.  She is used to hearing and has had friends who have been recupertaing for 6 weeks after a hysterectomy;  however, she was back to work after a few days, jogging after two weeks, and playing on her soccer team just a week later. 

As Dr. Payne says, "If you are going to have a minimally invasive surgery you would want the one that's most minimalistic...so if you can move from four or three incisions down to one or two, then that would be beneficial to you as far as recovery and pain and getting back to your normal life afterwards."

Robotic surgery can involve up to 4 ports, or incisions, into the body.  One is for the camera and up to three can be used for instruments for surgery.  Dr. Payne and the doctors at the Texas Institute for Robotic Sugery have developed a technique that only requires two ports, one for the camera and one more for the instrument.  They are capable of doing this because the instruments now are capable of much more than they used to be in the past.

For the full article, visit http://www.kvue.com/news/New-technology-allows-for-quicker-recovery-time-for-hysterectomy-patients-180230751.html.

Asia's first Robotic Aortic Surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital

Greetings from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.

It gives us immense pleasure to inform that for the first time in Asia, the Institute of Robotic Surgery @ Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi along with the Vascular Surgery Department performed Robotic Aortic Surgery successfully. The procedure was Aorto - Bifemoral Bypass for severe Aorto - iliac atherosclerotic disease. The entire aorto - graft anastomosis was performed laparoscopically with robotic assistance. We have performed 4 such procedures with successful outcome.

A high-definition video depicting the steps and the operative details of this procedure is available at the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7bVWCiv9Lk

This unique feat has been possible due to unconditional and total support of the management of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and blessings from colleagues like the Vattikuti Foundation. We take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for the same and look forward to your continued blessings and guidance.

In case of any query, please feel free to contact Dr. Arvind Kumar, Dr. Ajay Yadav, Dr. Belal Bin Asaf:
*Prof. Arvind Kumar                             Dr. Ajay Yadav                           *Dr. Belal Bin Asaf
(9810765405)                                         (9717183355)                               (9999965855)
arvindreena@gmail.com                          ajay.vascular@gmail.com                asafbelal@gmail.com

Boys with cryptorchidism at higher cancer risk

Boys born with cryptochidism, or undescended testicles, are at higher risk for testicular cancer. A meta-analysis shows that boys born with one or both testicles undescended are three times as likely to develop the cancer.

It is possible that the testes that do not descend are abnormal, which may be the reason why it is more likely to develop cancer.  Doctors usually recommend surgery for boys between 6-18 months old to correct the problem.  The reason for the surgery is to avoid any fertility issues.  Since the testes remain in the body, the temperature is too hot and can cause fertility issues. 

For the full article, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50001328/ns/health-mens_health/.

Metal nanoparticles may improve cancer treatment

A research team lead by Mamdooh Alqathami at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT) have discovered a way to increase the efficacy of radiation without increasing the side effects to patients.

Bismuth concentrates by double the dosage of radiation.  Doctors can then reduce the amount of initial radiation with the same effect.  Patients, however, will hopefully feel less side effects.  Bismuth based nanoparticles increased the radiation dosage by 90%.

Bismuth is a heavy and expensive metal.  Researchers have also used gold in the past.  Since both are expensive, researchers are looking for cheaper ways to do the same thing.

The research was an international collaboration between RMIT, the University of Melbourne, the University of Surrey (UK) and the Institute of Cancer Research (UK).

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/12/01/metal-nanoparticles-may-improve-cancer-treatment/.