Patient Education: FAQ on COVID-19 (coronavirus) and cancer patients

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has unveiled a FAQ, Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Patients with Cancer.  This document includes a brief history of the COVID-19 outbreak, common symptoms, and precautions that must be taken amongst cancer patients.

Click here for more information.

Cancer treatment in the age of COVID-19

OncoLink, a prominent cancer blog created by the University of Pennsylvania recently posted 3 blogs entries on their forum pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The first, On the Front Lines with Cancer and COVID-19,  provides personal perspectives from a radiation therapist, while Cancer Treatment in the Age of COVID-19 contains key resources to address concerns cancer patients may have regarding coronavirus.   Finally, the OncoLink team focuses on the mental health perspective of COVID-19, providing suggestions on dealing with mandated self-isolation periods.  To read more, click here.

Breast MRI associated with significantly higher rate of invasive cancer detection than digital breast tomosynthesis

A recent cross-sectional study with longitudinal follow-up on 1444 women undergoing breast cancer screening indicates that invasive cancer rate was considerable higher (11.8/1000) for breast MRI, compared to 4.8/1000 for digital breast tomosynthesis. While the authors of the study caution that further investigation of the correlation between screening methods and clinical outcome should be undertaken, the findings do support the notion that "improved screening methods for women with dense breasts are needed because of their increased risk of breast cancer and of failed early diagnosis by screening mammography."

To read more about this study, click here.

Source mentioned:   Comstock CE, Gatsonis C, Newstead GM, et al. Comparison of abbreviated breast MRI vs. digital breast tomosynthesis for breast cancer detection among women with dense breasts undergoing screening.  JAMA 2020;323(8):746-756. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.0572.

New trial alert: Hypofractionated whole-pelvis radiation therapy (WPRT) vs. conventionally-fractionated WPRT in prostate cancer

A new trial sponsored, in part by the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology is seeking to determine "if 5 fractions of external radiation therapy with higher radiation doses per fraction to the pelvis leads to similar results to the standard of care external radiation therapy treatment that is comprised of 25 fractions of external radiation therapy with lower radiation doses per fraction to the pelvis."  The primary outcome of the trial is quality of life with regards to late bowel function, while secondary outcomes include acute urinary and sexual quality of life outcomes.

To learn more about this trial, click here.