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In a prospective trial conducted from 2004-2010, 21 patients (median age 65 years) with a clinical complete response after chemoradiotherapy were followed closely per a stringent wait-and-see policy consisting of MRI, endosopies, and CT scans. These patients were compared to 20 patients prospectively who underwent surgery and were found to have a pathologic complete response.
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Long-term follow-up of Lynch syndrome patients who completed 2 years of treatment (aspirin or placebo) on the CAPP2 colorectal cancer prevention trial revealed a significant reduction in colorectal cancer development. This was the first large-scale colon cancer prevention trial using aspirin as an intervention. Implications for the prevention of sporadic colon cancer remain conjectural, however tempting it is to extrapolate these findings to the general adult population.
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New treatment for prostate cancer; avastin and breast cancer; new CMS disclosure rule; and FDA actions.
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An asymptomatic 78-year-old retired accountant presented to his physician with intractable hiccups. Physical examination, complete blood count, and imaging studies did not reveal a cause of the hiccups, and after several days the symptom disappeared. However, upon review of the abdominal CT scan obtained in evaluation of the hiccups, a right renal mass was defined.
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Now that male circumcision has been associated with a lower risk for HIV infection in international observational studies and in three randomized controlled clinical trials, international health officials are looking at options in making it more available to men at risk.
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Where do long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) fit in at your facility? How are you encouraging women to use the "Get It and Forget It" methods? If you are seeing low numbers of women choosing intrauterine devices (IUDs) or the contraceptive implant, you might want to change your counseling strategy.
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Has your clinic telephone been ringing recently with calls from women who have heard about a birth control pill recall? Chances are, few, if any, of your patients were using the affected oral contraceptives (OCs).
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New research indicates that the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) Gardasil (Merck & Co.) does not trigger autoimmune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, or multiple sclerosis after vaccination in young women.
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Results from a large, long-running Scandinavian study provides convincing evidence that combined oral contraceptives (OCs) alleviate the symptoms of dysmenorrhea, painful menstrual periods.
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Ulipristal acetate, the drug recently approved as an emergency contraceptive in the United States (Ella, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Morristown, NJ), is being eyed for other gynecologic uses. In research looking at women with symptomatic fibroids who were planning to undergo surgery, treatment with the selective progesterone-receptor modulator was effective in controlling excessive bleeding and reducing fibroid size at 13 weeks.
