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NACDS Supports Delaying The Implementation Of The GS1 DataBar Technology
National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) expressed its support for postponing the removal of the Universal Product Code (UPC-A) barcode system - scheduled for January 1, 2010. NACDS compliments and supports the Grocery Manufacturers Association"s (GMA) recommendation that the GS1 DataBar system implementation be delayed until January 1, 2011.
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Childhood Radiation Therapy Increases Future Breast Cancer Risk, Study Finds
Women who underwent radiation therapy for cancer as children have an increased long-term risk for developing breast cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Reuters reports. However, when the childhood treatments included a high dose of radiation to the ovaries, women"s risk of developing future breast tumors was "sharply reduced," according to the study.For the study, Peter Inskip of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues examined 120 women diagnosed with cancer before age 21. All women in the study were treated with radiation between 1970 and 1986 and survived at least five years. The women were compared with four women who also were diagnosed at a young age but did not receive radiation.The study found that the more radiation a woman received as a child, the more likely it was that a tumor would eventually develop. The study did not find that chemotherapy for the first cancer increased the risk for a second cancer (Reuters, 7/20).
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Novel Role Of Gene May Provide Key To Treating Liver And Neurodegenerative Diseases
Scientists at Singapore"s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have made a novel discovery about how the gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule" (FAIM), protects both immune and liver cells from apoptosis, or programmed cell death.
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Quality Of Care Delivery In Colorectal Cancer Improved By Educational Initiatives

A study of targeted educational initiatives between the clinical staff at Fox Chase Cancer Center and the hospitals within their Partners program suggest that educational interventions by academic cancer centers can improve quality of care for cancer patients at community hospitals. The study, to be presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, looked specifically at the number of lymph nodes that were surgically removed in colorectal cancer patients at Fox Chase"s partner hospitals and the impact that educational initiatives by clinical staff had on improving the number of nodes removed. Investigators on the study chose to focus their educational efforts on node retrieval because although research shows that the standard number of lymph nodes that should be removed during colorectal cancer surgery is 12 and that patients who have 12 or more nodes removed and examined have more accurate staging and improved survival, there are still a number of hospitals who are not reaching this goal. "We wanted to pick a quality metric which was easily quantifiable and could be measured over time to determine the impact of our educational initiative," said Steven Cohen, MD, associate medical director for Fox Chase Cancer Center Partners and senior author of the study. The educational interventions were conducted at 12 of Fox Chase"s partner hospitals between 2004 and 2006 and included group presentations at hospital tumor boards, cancer committees, quality committees, and regional Continuing Medical Education conferences. In addition, individual presentations to staff pathologists and surgeons were held. The study utilized tumor registries to gather data on patients that had undergone curative surgery for colon cancer from 2003 (pre-intervention) to 2006 (post-intervention). The study showed that the percentage of colon cancer operations with at least 12 lymph nodes retrieved increased significantly over the four years that the educational interventions took place. "Studies like this show how groups of hospitals, like those involved in the Fox Chase Cancer Center Partners Program, can work together to improve quality of care for cancer patients," said Cohen. Other investigators involved in the study were Margaret O"Grady, Samuel Litwin, Karyn Stitzenberg, Elin Sigurdson, Neal Meropol, and Paul Engstrom of Fox Chase Cancer Center, Brendan Curley of Hahnemann Univeristy Hospital , Harry Armitage of Crozer Keystone Health System and Ashok Bapat of Virtua Health System. Abstract #6524: Assessing the impact of a targeted educational initiative on colorectal cancer lymph node retrieval: A Fox Chase Cancer Center Partners" quality initiative. Poster Discussion, Sunday, May 31 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EṢ€"Level 3, W315A 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.̣€"Level 2, W203C Diana Quattrone Fox Chase Cancer Center


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