Researchers presenting at ASTRO 2015, the premier radiation oncology scientific event in the world, unveiled new data this week that could fundamentally change the way that early stage breast cancer is treated.
Results from a landmark prospective, randomized, multicenter phase III study conducted in Europe demonstrated that APBI brachytherapy leads to equivalent overall survival and local cancer control rates as compared to WBI after breast conserving surgery for selected patients with early stage breast cancers. These data were presented during the ASTRO official press conference and published in The Lancet, a leading high-impact global peer-reviewed medical journal.
“We have been confidently offering APBI brachytherapy to selected women for years based on numerous phase II, single site and large registry studies that have confirmed the clinical utility of site-specific radiation delivered in a condensed timeframe,” said Frank A. Vicini, M.D., radiation oncologist, 21st Century Oncology, Royal Oak, Mich. and contributing author to the 2009 and 2013 ASTRO and ABS APBI guidelines. “The results from this landmark, multicenter, prospective randomized clinical study are the first to offer the critical level one evidence necessary to drive the fundamental changes in breast conserving cancer treatment that patients and healthcare professionals have been demanding for years.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7661231-new-apbi-brachytherapy-data-at-astro-2015/
Blood is an essential component for life, but many people do not think about it until the need is critical. Each year 234 million major operations are performed worldwide, many involving blood transfusions or treatments resulting in a continuous need for donations.
That’s why Abbott (NYSE: ABT) and Real Madrid soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo are partnering to bring even more attention to this important cause. Regarded as one of the top soccer players in the world, Ronaldo will serve as the first global ambassador for the BE THE 1™ movement – developed to inspire young people around the world to regularly donate blood.
“We can all make a difference by donating blood. Each donation can benefit up to three people in emergency situations and for long-term medical treatments,” said Cristiano Ronaldo, forward for Real Madrid and Captain for Portugal National Football. “That’s why I am enthusiastic to be partnering with Abbott to bring awareness to the importance of blood donation and to encourage people around the world to become lifelong blood donors and help save lives.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7668251-abbott-cristiano-ronaldo-donate-blood/
Results from two national surveys of patients receiving chemotherapy and pharmacists, conducted by the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) in collaboration with Eisai Inc.,* found that 83% of patients receiving chemotherapy who have experienced chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) believe it is a side effect with which they must live. Results also showed that 95% of cancer patients surveyed believe that CINV has, at some point, had an impact on their daily lives. These national surveys are part of the Time to Talk CINV™ campaign, which aims to increase awareness among patients and caregivers about CINV prevention and the importance of speaking with their pharmacist and full healthcare team about this often preventable side effect.
“The survey results underscore the confusion patients who are undergoing chemotherapy have about CINV and the need for them to understand that there are ways to manage their symptoms so that they do not have to needlessly suffer with CINV,” said Scott Soefje, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, President, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) and Director of Pharmacy at the University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin, TX. “It is imperative that patients discuss CINV prevention early in treatment and with all members of the health care team, including pharmacists.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7560331-time-to-talk-cinv/
After only 16 weeks of existence, foetuses hear and respond to music as long as it is emitted from their mother’s vagina. Foetuses respond to this stimulus by opening their mouths and pulling their tongues out as far as possible, making vocalisation movements – prior to the acquisition of language.
This is the main conclusion of the study conducted by the team of Institut Marquès, which boasts the collaboration of Alberto Prats, Professor of Anatomy and Human Embryology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona.
The study, entitled “Foetal facial expression in response to intravaginal music emission”, is published this week in the journal Ultrasound of the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS).
According to Dr. Marisa López-Teijón, the Head of Assisted Reproduction at Institut Marquès and the principal researcher and author of the clinical study: “We have discovered that the formula for foetuses to hear like us is to emit music from the mother’s vagina. They barely hear the sound that reaches them through their mother’s abdomen: the soft tissues of the abdomen and the inside of the mother’s body absorb the soundwaves”.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7647351-how-foetuses-hear-musical-stimuli/
Invuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:IVTY), an advanced medical technology company, announced today the launch of its Hidden ScarTM Surgery program designed to certify surgeons and establish Centers of Excellence at major cancer centers and hospitals across the country. This innovative program will train surgeons on advanced minimally invasive and minimal access surgical approaches that deliver optimal clinical and aesthetic outcomes for patients. As part of the company’s broader women’s health initiative, Invuity is hosting a Hidden Scar Breast Cancer Surgery training course in advance of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress.
Invuity aims to transform the surgical treatment of breast cancer with this advanced surgical approach for nipple sparing mastectomies and lumpectomies (breast conserving surgery). Hidden Scar Breast Cancer Surgery expands surgical options for patients, offering superior cosmetic outcomes that can improve their psychological and emotional recovery and enhance quality of life after surgery.1
With growing demand for less invasive alternatives to breast cancer surgery, surgeons need to operate through smaller incisions with limited fields of vision. Invuity’s illumination technology allows surgeons to access and visualize the entire breast cavity through discrete incision locations, enabling surgeons to safely and effectively treat breast cancer while preserving the natural shape of the breast and thereby minimizing and hiding the scars.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7644051-invuity-hidden-scar-breast-cancer-surgery-program/
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today announced it has committed $28.6 million in new research investment to advance the most promising blood cancer science at leading academic and medical institutions around the world, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College and MD Anderson Cancer Center. As LLS leads the charge to find cures for cancer patients, this new funding, along with ongoing investment in LLS’s aggressive research agenda, brings LLS’s total commitment to blood cancer research to more than $1 billion. The investment has led to the development of nearly every therapy currently used to treat the blood cancers.
Along with these new research grants, LLS remains committed to collaborating with biotechnology companies through its innovative Therapy Acceleration Program® (TAP), a model pioneered by LLS in the cancer arena in recognition that traditional research approaches weren’t yielding treatments and cures fast enough for patients. LLS commits approximately $13 million a year to its TAP initiatives. As part of the 24 current such collaborations, LLS recently initiated new investments with Kite Pharma and OncoPep.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554852-lls-cancer-research-funding/
The European Head and Neck Society (EHNS) and the Make Sense Campaign, today announced the launch of the Third Annual Head and Neck Cancer Awareness week (21–25 September). Through the pan-European Awareness Week, the EHNS and Make Sense Campaign promote education on head and neck cancer risk factors, disease prevention and disease signs and symptoms for both patients and healthcare professionals.
“Each year 350,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer across Europe, and over half will not be alive after five years. However, if diagnosed and treated earlier, patients can have an 80 – 90% survival rate.” said Professor René Leemans, President of the EHNS and Professor and Chief of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at VU University Medical Centre. “Through the Make Sense Campaign we are educating people about the early signs of the disease and encouraging them to seek professional help in a timely manner. Additionally, we are advocating for the best possible standards of patient care so that their outcomes can be optimised once they have been diagnosed with the disease.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7628151-support-head-neck-cancer-patients/
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST) and HealthPrize Technologies, LLC, today announced the completion of the first two phases of their four-phase strategic collaboration. The companies are working to integrate HealthPrize’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) medication adherence and patient-engagement platform with West’s injectable drug delivery systems to provide an end-to-end connected health solution for pharmaceutical companies and the patients they serve. The combined offering will provide voluntary, electronically connected drug delivery systems that track when patients take their medication. The HealthPrize system engages and educates patients to increase adherence and medical literacy, rewarding interaction and compliance with prescribed treatment plans, and contributing to better health outcomes.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7625851-west-pharma-healthprize-tech-collaboration/
Cardinal Health, which provides medical products and services to many of America’s most prestigious medical institutions, today announced the launch of the Hospital Quality at Home™ brand, a new line of hospital-quality products available over the counter to help loved ones and caregivers transition care from the hospital to home. The product line provides a full assortment of hospital-quality products for consumers categorized as Advanced Wound Care, First Aid, Personal Care, and Home Healthcare which help provide comfort and independence, while helping to promote healing.
When leaving the hospital after childbirth, injury or surgery, the care you provide for yourself or a loved one is important. Each year, hospitals discharge 35.1 million patients1 with 65 percent of those discharged to the home setting for care.2 Effective post-hospital care is critical to avoid re-admission as one in five patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge.2 With rising health care costs3 the Hospital Quality at Home™ line of products can provide patients, loved ones, and caregivers effective and cost-efficient ways to manage care at home.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7622451-cardinal-health-hospital-quality-at-home/
L’Oréal announced the winners of its International Awards for Social Responsibility in Dermatology, “Caring to Inspire Skin Confidence” at the 23rd World Congress of Dermatology taking place in Vancouver, Canada.
For Latin America
Dr. Gioconda Gaudiano from Republic of Panama
Moon Children - Providing mobile surgery clinics to Indigenous people
This initiative provides free consultations, medical treatment and sun education via mobile surgery clinics to the 40,000 indigenous people from the Archipelago of San Blas, a region with the highest incidence of albinism in the world. Albinos can face severe skin problems, such as skin cancer, caused by UV light and sun exposure due to the lack of melanin in their skin. The mobile surgery clinics are able to travel to the Archipelago of San Blas, a community that often shuns medical treatment and avoids protective measures against skin cancer.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554651-loreal-announces-2015-awardees/
The millions of women who experience bladder leakage now have a new option to strengthen and tone away their problem instead of covering it up with pads.
The PeriCoach System is a discreet device and smartphone app that helps women perform at-home pelvic floor muscle training, exercises recommended by the American College of Physicians as first-line treatment for urinary incontinence. PeriCoach is the only system that includes a web portal allowing clinicians to remotely monitor their patients’ progress.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7543451-pericoach-fda-approval/
National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, led by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), is May 17-23, 2015. State Farm and other members of the National Dog Bite Prevention Coalition have joined forces to educate adults and children about ways to reduce dog-related injuries. While an overwhelming majority of interactions with dogs don’t result in injury, most dog bites to children could be prevented.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/72928517-state-farm-dog-bite-prevention/