Articles related to IMAGING/SCREENING

We already shared the story about the financial advantage of AI being used in colonoscopies — here is a related story featuring key takeaways regarding the importance of screening in younger people, new techniques such as linked color imaging, and the non-invasive modality MRI colonography.

Technology to the rescue. Employing artificial intelligence (AI) during a colonoscopy could save money and lead to earlier detection of cancer and better health outcomes for patients. AI detection tools also were associated with a cost savings of $57 per patient after lowering discounted costs from $3,400 to $3,343, which persisted in secondary colonoscopy modeling analysis.

This is a 1.75-hour credit expert round-table featuring members of UPMC faculty. The group dialogue together on the state-of the art in pancreatic cancer and their experience in biliary stenting including advantages of metal versus plastic stenting, and their experience in recent advances in molecular testing of pancreatic cysts, identifying those patients that will benefit from targeted surveillance of pancreatic cancer, and methods of performing PDAC surveillance and their outcomes. They also discuss prevention and management of post-op complications, and pain control in this population.

These authors found a “consistent positive association between pre-existing thyroid autoimmunity and higher thyroid cancer risk.” There also appears to be a correlation between thyroid antibody levels and related risk. The association appeared stronger in women than in men. The authors do not recommend screening for thyroid cancer in those with thyroid autoimmunity because of the risk of overdiagnosis.

In this case-control registry study of 63,828 patients with 14 common cancer types and 37,086 controls, pathogenic variants in BRCA1 were associated with biliary tract cancer, BRCA2 was associated with esophageal cancer, and combined BRCA1/2, with gastric cancer.

In March 2021, the US Preventive Services Task Force expanded the eligibility for lung cancer screening by setting the benchmark at a 20 pack-year smoking history for those ages 50 to 80 years who are current smokers or former smokers who have quit within the past 15 years. The new criteria will boost the number of eligible adults by 87% overall, according to a modeling analysis. It also could reduce lung cancer deaths by 13% versus 10% previously.