What's New | Decker

Jon O. Wee, MD, FACS

There are trials accruing to establish if there is a role (HerFLOT – phase II adding trastuzumab to perioperative FLOT, NCI phase III trial looking at trastuzumab in addition to induction chemo radiotherapy).
There is evidence that residual tumor outside the confines of the clinical target volume is a poor prognostic factor for locoregional recurrence and survival in esophageal cancer⁸⁵
The advent of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has permitted patients to undergo a transthoracic approach who previously may not have been considered candidates for this approach due to the significant postoperative morbidity potentia

Sylvia Botros-Brey, MD, MSCI, K. Christopher McMains, MD, PhD, MS, Jo Shapiro, MD, FACS

The central feature of medical ethics is the primacy of the patient’s interests.
The ethical obligations of a for-profit corporation include maximizing profit and growth.
The rise of entrepreneurialism and the growing corporatization of medicine also challenge the traditions of virtue-based medical care. When these processes are allowed to dominate medicine, health care becomes a commodity.
The different obligations of business and medical ethics call the appropriateness of applying industrial models to provision of health care into question. It is no less than each of our professional duties to address these tensions where they exist.

Phuong-Anh T. Duong, MD, Gerald W. Staton Jr, MD, FACP

Recently developed dual-energy chest radiographs can detect calcium in lesions or remove overlapping bone to confirm the presence of a lesion
Automatic tube current and tube potential modulation reduces computed tomography radiation risk by optimizing the radiation dose to the patient size and scan region
Positron emission tomography has limited applicability in low-grade adenocarcinoma and carcinoid tumors owing to poor fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in these clinical concerns

Sylvia Botros-Brey, MD, MSCI, K. Christopher McMains, MD, PhD, MS, Jo Shapiro, MD, FACS

The central feature of medical ethics is the primacy of the patient’s interests.
The ethical obligations of a for-profit corporation include maximizing profit and growth.
The rise of entrepreneurialism and the growing corporatization of medicine also challenge the traditions of virtue-based medical care. When these processes are allowed to dominate medicine, health care becomes a commodity.
The different obligations of business and medical ethics call the appropriateness of applying industrial models to provision of health care into question. It is no less than each of our professional duties to address these tensions where they exist.

Julio Garcia-Aguilar, MD, PhD

Minimally invasive platforms facilitate removal of rectal tumors that are beyond the reach of conventional transanal excision techniques.
The use of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy may make local excision a viable option for T2 rectal tumors.
Outcomes for immediate salvage surgery are generally better than for delayed salvage surgery.

Emerging role of beta agonist therapy for treatment of OAB
The pharmacologic use of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox®) upgraded to strongest rating of “standard" (strength of evidence grade B) by the amended 2014 AUA/SUFU guidelines.
Studies reporting trigonal injections of Botox may be associated with superior continence rates

Evidence-based guidelines are now available to help assess risk and selection of pharmacologic options for pain control.
Mechanism-based selection of analgesic medications is likely to maximize analgesic coverage by improving efficacy and reducing adverse effects and cost of treatment.
The need to identify alternative viable treatment options is evident with an increase in system restrictions.

Thorax