Darren Klass, MD, PhD, Radiologist - Leading Physician of the World

04/06/2015

A substantial gap exists between patient expectations and current practices for providing information about medical imaging tests that use radiation, according to a new study published online in th...

03/17/2015

The characteristic blue glow from a nuclear reactor is present in radiation therapy, too. Investigators from Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Brian W. Pogue, PhD, and PhD candidates ...

03/04/2015

Much of the damage that ultraviolet radiation (UV) does to skin occurs hours after sun exposure, a team of Yale-led researchers concluded in a study that was published online by the journal Science...

02/18/2015

For patients with brain cancer, radiation is a powerful and potentially life-saving treatment, but it can also cause considerable and even permanent injury to the brain. Now, through preclinical ex...

01/31/2015

Majority of primary care physicians find that medical imaging improves patient care http://wp.me/p4MYXf-10

According to a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), large majorities of primary care physicians believe that advanced medical imaging, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), provides considerable value to patient care.A national survey of 500 primary care physicians was conducted using an online self-administered questionnaire.

01/14/2015

Patient-centred approach to recording side effects of radiotherapy http://wp.me/p4MYXf-X

For lung cancer that cannot be removed with surgery, radiotherapy is the primary treatment option. However, it is associated with a range of side effects, including fatigue and inflammation of the oesophagus and lungs. Current methods to record treatment-related toxicities rely on assessment by health care professionals. Now a team from The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust - both part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre - has explored the use of patient-reported outcomes to improve the recording of side effects for lung cancer patients. [ 238 more words. ]

12/31/2014

Real-time radiation monitor can reduce radiation exposure for medical workers http://wp.me/p4MYXf-U

It's a sound that saves. A "real-time" radiation monitor that alerts by beeping in response to radiation exposure during cardiac-catheterization procedures significantly reduces the amount of exposure that medical workers receive, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found. In a randomized study, the researchers divided 505 patients undergoing either diagnostic coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention, such as stent placement, into two groups. [ 378 more words. ]

12/19/2014

Children being given unnecessary chest X-rays http://wp.me/p4MYXf-R

Researchers at Mayo Clinic found that some children are receiving chest X-rays that may be unnecessary and offer no clinical benefit to the patient, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "Chest X-rays can be a valuable exam when ordered for the correct indications," said Ann Packard, M.D., radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. [ 352 more words. ]

12/08/2014

Surgery plus chemoradiation linked to improved survival rates for gastric cancer patients http://wp.me/p4MYXf-O

Patients who receive chemotherapy and radiation after surgery for gastric cancer appear to have better survival rates than those who had surgery followed by only chemotherapy, according to results of a look-back study of more than 500 people by Johns Hopkins scientists. The combination of post-operative chemotherapy and radiation, or chemoradiation, resulted in survival for an average of 46.7 months after treatment, compared to 20.9 months among those who received chemotherapy only after surgery. [ 520 more words. ]

11/17/2014

Interstitial lung disease is a significant risk factor for lung inflammation following stereotactic body radiation therapy for lung cancer http://wp.me/p4MYXf-L

Pretreatment interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a significant risk factor for developing symptomatic and severe radiation pneumonitis in stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) alone. ILD is a group of diseases that cause scarring and stiffing of the tissue and space around the air sacs in the lungs, which results in diminished gas exchange. [ 325 more words. ]

10/29/2014

Health costs could be reduced by more appropriate use of cardiac stress testing with imaging http://wp.me/p4MYXf-H

In a new study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center concluded that overuse of cardiac stress testing with imaging has led to rising healthcare costs and unnecessary radiation exposure to patients. In what is believed to be the first comprehensive examination of trends in cardiac stress testing utilizing imaging, researchers also showed that there are no significant racial or ethnic health disparities in its use. [ 605 more words. ]

10/13/2014

Exercise can enhance tumor-shrinking effects of chemotherapy http://wp.me/p4MYXf-E

New research published in the American Journal of Physiology, suggests exercise may boost the tumor-shrinking effects of chemotherapy. In a study of mice with melanoma, scientists from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, found that chemotherapy shrank more tumors when combined with exercise. Senior author Joseph Libonati, an associate professor in Penn's School of Nursing, and colleagues were originally trying to find out if exercise could protect… [ 566 more words. ]