Drug Seen to Prolong Life and Delay Worsening of Breast Cancer

In a recent study, it was found that a drug that delivers a powerful poison to tumors can delay the worsening of breast cancer. The drug also has fewer side effects and was seen to prolong lives.

The drug is known as T-DM1, and if approved, could hit the market as early as next year, according to an article by The New York Times.

The new drug represents an advance in treating breast cancer, and the success in the clinical trials show that it’s possible to deliver the drug to cancerous cells while at the same time saving healthy ones.  

T-DM1 and other similar drugs being tested consist of antibodies, which are powerful toxins linked to proteins. The antibodies from the drugs grab on to cancer cells and directly deliver the toxins to it.  

Side effects of the drugs are reduced as the toxins are not active until it reaches the tumor.  

In the trials, it was seen that T-DM1 delayed the worsening of breast cancer by about three months. Also, approximately 85 percent of patients receiving the new drug were still alive after one year, compared to the control group which had a percentage of 77. 

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

Medical Data Breaches Increase

As more medical records go digital, the size and frequency of data breaches are increasing.  

Public health officials and privacy advocates are becoming more alarmed; keeping records secure and safe is starting to become a real challenge. 

In an article from The Washington Post, two recent incidents at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. have shown how many people can be affected by inadequate data security.  

Earlier in May, federal prosecutors charged a hospital employee with violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The employee used her position to gain access to patient’s health information, including their names, Medicare numbers, and addresses. She then sold the information outside of work. 

Before that incident took place, the same hospital had to contact more than 34,000 patients that their medical information had been compromised.  

A contractor working for the hospital had put information on a personal laptop, which was later stolen out of the employee’s vehicle. Information stolen included names, Social Security numbers, addresses and in some cases, health and diagnosis related information.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 40 percent of medical data breaches involved portable media devices, such as laptops, in the past two and a half years. 

Many incidents that lead to patients having their information compromised can be avoided. 

Protection measures, such as encryption, password security, and cloud storage could easily be used by health care officials to make information more secure.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

Chagas Disease

After being called “the new AIDS of the Americas,” Chagas, a tropical disease spread by insects, is beginning to cause some concern. 

The Public Library of Science’s Neglected Tropical Diseases is the medical journal that published the article on Chagas. The editorial said that the spread of the disease resembles the early years of HIV. 

The tropical disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, has affected more than eight million people, where most of the infected live in Latin and Central America. However, 300,000 people have been infected in the United States. 

HIV is a sexually-transmitted disease, whereas Chagas is a disease caused by parasites transmitted to humans through blood-sucking insects.  

The insects that can infect you are called the “kissing bugs.” As it is ingest your blood, it is excreting the parasite at the same time. When you begin scratching the bug bite, you’re infected when the parasite moves into the wound. 

The two diseases are similar in some ways, however.  

Both diseases require expansive and expensive treatment and are prone to affect those living in poverty. Also, many patients affected do not have access to health care facilities.  

The disease kills up to 20,000 people each year, and is hard or impossible to cure, according to The New York Times. Approximately 20 percent of those affected by Chagas develop a serious and life-threatening form of the disease.  

Chagas can be transmitted from mother to child as well as by blood transfusions. Treatment of Chagas involves taking very harsh drugs for up to three months. Unfortunately, the drugs will only work if the disease is caught early.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

Paralyzed Rats Walk Again

After a combination of chemical and electrical stimulation of the spinal cord together with robotic support, rats that were once paralyzed are now walking and running again.  

The five-year studies were done in Switzerland where scientists have restored full movement to the rats that had severe paralysis by spinal cord injuries.  

However, it is unknown whether a similar treatment would work for people with spinal cord damage. The rats in the study had a direct cut through their spinal cord, whereas few humans have the same thing happen. Most humans have spinal cord damage from bruising or compression, so it is unclear whether the techniques recently discovered could work.  

With a number of complications going with spinal cord damage, such as holes, scar tissue buildup and nerve cells and fibers that have died, it is not certain if the stimulation techniques could ultimately help a cord that has been damaged for a very long time.  

Although the study raises many questions regarding the use on humans, it still offers hope and encouragement that spinal cord injuries could be fixed in the future.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.
602-224-0005

Sleep Apnea and Cancer

People who suffer from sleep apnea are at a greater risk of developing cancer, according to two new studies.

Sleep apnea is a common disorder that approximately 28 million Americans have in one form or another. It causes fatigue, snoring and dangerous pauses in breathing at night. 

This condition is considered a top concern to sleep doctors because it deprives the body of oxygen at night and can coincide with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.  

In one of the new studies, researchers in Spain followed thousands of patients who suffered from many forms of sleep apnea. It was found that those patients with the more severe type of sleep apnea were at a greater risk of developing cancer of any kind by 65 percent.   

Another study looked at patients who had difficulties breathing at night. It was discovered that those patients with this breathing abnormality had five times the rate of dying from cancer compared to people that did not have the sleep disorder.  

According to the article from The New York Times, Dr. Mitesh Borad, a cancer researcher and assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic called the studies “provocative,” but suggested that more research be performed to confirm the findings. 

However, recent studies performed on mice do suggest that sleep apnea plays an important role in developing cancer. When mice with cancerous tumors were placed in low-oxygen environments (which simulate the effects of sleep apnea), their cancers progressed more rapidly.   

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

Skin Cancer Risks Among Young Adults

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, young adults are engaging in behaviors that can increase the risk of getting skin cancer.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and treatments cost Americans as much as $1.7 billion each year.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer but both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers can cause scars and reduce a patients’ quality of life.

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), from 2010, asked adults in the U.S. about a number of things, such as indoor tanning habits, their sun protective behaviors and the number of sunburns they acquired in the past year.

There were two surveys; one looked at adults from ages 18-29 about sun protective behaviors and sunburns while the second one looked at adults aged 18 and older dealing with indoor tanning devices.

For those 18-29 surveyed, it was found that experiencing one or more sunburns in the past year was common with non-Hispanic whites with 66 percent and least common among non-Hispanic blacks by 11 percent.

It was also found that only 37 percent of women use sunscreen and 33 percent of men wear long clothing down to their ankles to protect them from the sun.

In the study that surveyed those aged 18 and older dealing with indoor tanning devices, 32 percent of non-Hispanic white women were more likely to use those devices. Those who reported using the indoor tanning device also reported an average of 28 tanning sessions in the past year.

Among the non-Hispanic white adults that were surveyed, 40 percent of men and 58 percent of women used one 10 times or more in the past year.

The results from the survey show high-risk behaviors for skin cancer among young adults in the United States.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

I-PASS

According to an article from Market Watch, a new patient safety and medical education initiative has come to light that can reduce medical mistakes by as much as 40 percent.  

The initiative, called I-PASS, would improve how patient care is “handed off” during hospital shift changes.  

I-PASS was developed at Boston Children’s Hospital and is being tested in 10 pediatric training programs across the country. 

The curriculum looks to improve communication during residents’ shift changes. The goal is to have incoming doctors accurately briefed on each patient’s status, medical history and what treatment plan they are on.  

According to the article, 70 percent of sentinel events come from poor miscommunication, which can happen during handoffs.  

I-PASS stands for:

I: Illness severity;

P: Patient summary;

A: Action list for the next team;

S: Situation awareness and contingency plan;

S: Synthesis and “read-back” of the information  

The pilot study performed found that the introduction of the new safety initiative reduced medical errors by 40 percent .It was also discovered that doctors spent more time with their patients and less time on the computer.  

Residents are trained using I-PASS by taking a three hour workshop that includes role-plays and simulations where they give and receive handoffs during real-life scenarios. 

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005