GAN-CAN

Hospitals

Breast implant problems can be stopped with conscientious doctors

This year began with a breast implant scandal. This one has brought back memories of the one early in my private practice. The current one involves the PIP-branded breast implants produced by the French company Poly Implant Prothese and rebranded by the Dutch company Rofil as Rofil M-implants breast implants. The first one involved silicone implants made by American companies including Dow Corning who no longer makes breast implants. The picture of 3 implants includes: top -- an old McGhan double lumen (silicone gel implant surrounded by a saline implant); bottom left – Dow Corning textured silicone implant; and bottom right – Dow Corning smooth silicone implant. Dow Corning has not made breast implants since approximately 1992.

By Dr. Ramona Bates
Hospitals

Reduction mammoplasty eases much more than physical discomfort

This article (full reference below) on the additional benefits an individual gains from having a reduction mammoplasty (RM) has been published online ahead of print.  The authors performed a systemic review of the literature focusing on functional outcomes after RM with regard to physical and psychological symptom improvement. The authors performed a systematic review of […]

By Dr. Ramona Bates
Hospitals

How we’ve fought cancer so far: A brief summary

We’ve been fighting the war on cancer for forty years and although there has been a decrease in U.S. cancer deaths, the global burden of cancer has doubled over the last three decades [1]. Indeed, the leading cause of death in the world today is cancer, followed by heart disease and stroke [2,3]. Cancer also […]

By Highlight HEALTH
Hospitals

PSA test recommendation needed a little healthcare PR help

Last Friday at 3 p.m., the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality held a telephone briefing to inform the press and public about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine screening of prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in middle-aged men. The “D” recommendation, now open for public comment, said the harms from false […]

By Merrill Goozner
Devices & Diagnostics

Catheter, breast cancer imaging companies receive fresh capital

A pair of Pennsylvania medical companies – one focused on cardiac catheterization and the other improving breast cancer imaging – have received fresh funding from the state’s economic development and investment arm. Essential Medical received $250,000 from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Real Time Tomography secured a $150,000. Each company has previous […]

By Stephanie Baum
Pharma

GSK halts part of breast cancer trial; drug can’t top Herceptin

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) has halted part of a phase 3 breast cancer clinical study after an independent committee concluded that the GSK drug administered alone is unlikely to work better than a rival cancer drug from Roche (OTC:RHHBY)  But three other arms of the trial studying the GSK drug lapatinib, also called Tykerb, will continue. Those […]

By Frank Vinluan
Devices & Diagnostics

MRI-guided radiotherapy firm ViewRay gets $10M in new funding

A company that’s developing MRI-based technology to deliver radiation therapy to cancer patients has secured $10 million in new investment funding. Oakwood Village, Ohio-based ViewRay‘s $10.3 million fundraise comes from existing investors, according to a document filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors listed in the document include Kearny Venture Partners, OrbiMed Advisors, Fidelity […]

By Brandon Glenn
News

UNC shares in $19.3M NCI grant to study breast cancer disparities

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is sharing in a $19.3 million National Cancer Institute grant to study why young, African-American women are at greater risk for breast cancer. UNC researchers are teaming with researchers at Boston University and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in the five-year study of the health disparity. With data […]

By Frank Vinluan