Liver cancer survival rates could be improved if more people with cirrhosis are screened for tumors using ultrasound scans and blood tests, according to a review published in PLOS Medicine by physicians at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The meta-analysis of 47 studies involving more than 15,000 patients found that the three-year survival rate
When cancer progresses and spreads to the bone, patients often suffer debilitating pain. A new phase III clinical trial shows that noninvasive MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment that heats the cancer within the bone relieves pain and improves function for most patients when other treatment options are limited. The results were published in the Journal
Unlike healthy cells, cancer cells thrive when deprived of oxygen. Tumors in low-oxygen environments tend to be more resistant to therapy and spread more aggressively to other parts of the body. Measuring tumors’ oxygen levels could help physicians make decisions about treatments, but there’s currently no reliable, noninvasive way to make such measurements. However, a
Image Gently’s New DR Checklist May Also Aid Exam Data Collection By David Yeager DR has brought many improvements to the way that X-ray images are captured and processed, but it has created new challenges as well. Although DR has increased the efficiency of obtaining, storing, and retrieving images and reduced the number of repeat
Keith Hentel, MD, likes to tell this story: A young boy fell out of a third-story window and was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/ Weill Cornell Medical Center’s emergency department for treatment. Hentel was the radiologist on call. The emergency physicians wanted a CT scan to determine whether the child had internal injuries. The child’s parents
Researchers have used radioimmunotherapy (RIT) to destroy remaining HIV-infected cells in the blood samples of patients treated with antiretroviral therapy. The approach could provide a strategy for curing HIV infection, according to research presented at RSNA 2013. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has transformed the outlook for patients infected with HIV by suppressing the replication
Automated breast density measurement predicts breast cancer risk in younger women, and that risk may be related to the rate at which breast density changes in some women as they age, according to research presented at RSNA 2013. Breast density, as determined by mammography, already is known to be a strong and independent risk factor
Focused ultrasound under MR guidance may offer a safe and effective noninvasive treatment for breast cancer, according to research presented at RSNA 2013. MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) ablation requires no incision or puncture to perform. Instead, it uses the acoustic energy from high-intensity focused ultrasound to heat and ablate diseased tissue. Continuous MRI is used
Using a special type of MRI, researchers have found that soldiers who suffered mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) induced by blast exposure exhibit long-term brain differences, according to a study presented at RSNA 2013. Recent wars have resulted in veterans with an exposure rate of approximately 20% to blast-induced MTBI, or trauma resulting from mortar
Almost 1 in every 7 cardiologists is seeking to sell his or her practice, according to a report from staffing firm Jackson Healthcare, who surveyed physicians across all areas of medicine. Physicians in private practice still outnumber those employed, but this could change as less than half the survey respondents with an ownership stake say