Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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This article summarizes the phenomenon of cancer overdiagnosis-the diagnosis of a "cancer" that would otherwise not go on to cause symptoms or death. We describe the two prerequisites for cancer overdiagnosis to occur: the existence of a silent disease reservoir and activities leading to its detection (particularly cancer screening). ⋯ To address the problem, patients must be adequately informed of the nature and the magnitude of the trade-off involved with early cancer detection. Equally important, researchers need to work to develop better estimates of the magnitude of overdiagnosis and develop clinical strategies to help minimize it.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Apr 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialOctreotide acetate in prevention of chemoradiation-induced diarrhea in anorectal cancer: randomized RTOG trial 0315.
In anorectal cancer patients, an acute side effect of chemoradiotherapy is gastrointestinal toxicity, which often impedes treatment delivery. Based on previous trials, octreotide acetate is widely recommended for the control of chemotherapy-induced diarrhea. However, the effectiveness of octreotide in preventing or controlling radiation- and chemoradiation-induced diarrhea is not known. ⋯ In this study, the prophylactic use of LAO did not prevent the incidence or reduce the severity of diarrhea and had no notable impact on patient-reported bowel function or QoL.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Apr 2010
Race and colorectal cancer disparities: health-care utilization vs different cancer susceptibilities.
It is unclear whether the disproportionately higher incidence and mortality from colorectal cancer among blacks compared with whites reflect differences in health-care utilization or colorectal cancer susceptibility. ⋯ We observed a lower follow-up for screen-detected abnormalities among blacks when compared with whites but little difference in the yield of colorectal neoplasia. Health-care utilization may be playing more of a role in colorectal cancer racial disparity than biology.