Articles related to Oncology, Surgical

Only about half of doctors in America identify themselves as “millionaires.” Like the rest of us, many physicians need to invest their money to grow it and build a retirement fund. And, increasingly, doctors are following the lead of the super-rich and investing in art. One-percenters are increasingly putting their money into art, which offers superior returns to the stock market averages with less risk and stress. Over time, the price of art tends to move in one direction — upwards — whereas stock prices can gyrate wildly and are prone to extreme volatility.

A randomized phase II trial has found that consolidation therapy with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) after chemoradiotherapy did not lead to better survival outcomes for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The study enrolled 222 patients with stage I-IIIB histologically or cytologically confirmed limited-disease SCLC, and adequate hematologic, renal, lung, and pulmonary function. The combination regimen yielded no improvement in overall survival, and grade 3 adverse events were approximately 2.5 times more common in the dual therapy group.

“MB” is a frail, wheelchair-ridden, nearly blind, and mostly deaf woman living with early dementia and neglected lung cancer. What this oncologist thought MB wanted and needed was a lot different than what MB actually wanted and needed after discussing various options with her and talking to her family on numerous occasions. A humbling, honest view of an oncologist’s biases.

DLBCL is increasingly being recognized as a heterogeneous disease with distinct molecular subtypes. This has challenged the rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) treatment paradigm in recent years, as several DLBCL subtypes have inferior survival after standard R-CHOP therapy. So how do you choose? In this review the authors conclude with proposed clinical management scenarios in which DA-R-EPOCH may be preferred, including some for patient populations in which the use of R-CHOP vs. DA-R-EPOCH is controversial.

A study published in Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) argues that immunosuppressed patients and people with compromised immune systems need more than two vaccine doses to achieve adequate protection against COVID-19. After two vaccine doses, immunocompromised patients saw 77% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization, versus 90% for immunocompetent individuals.

The Journal of Clinical Oncology has a heartfelt account of one family’s struggle to access medical records after the death of a child from a brain tumor. Closing down online access to medical records is a common practice at hospitals and healthcare clinics following the death of a patient, often to the pain of family members who still have questions and seek answers.