Smoking, obesity, alcohol affect survival of non-Hodgkin”s lymphoma patients

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 14 (ANI): People with non-Hodgkin”s lymphoma—who smoked, consumed alcohol or were obese before their cancer diagnosis—had poorer overall survival, as compared to patients who did not have these risk factors, a new study found.

The finding by researchers from Mayo Clinic in collaboration with six other U.S. institutions, was made after accounting for clinical and demographic factors, and also when considering only deaths due to this kind of lymphoma.

For example, non-Hodgkin”s lymphoma patients with a 20-plus-year history of smoking had a 76 percent higher risk of death compared to never smokers; patients who consumed more than 43 grams of alcohol per week had a 55 percent higher risk of death compared to nondrinkers; and obese patients (defined as a body mass index of 30 or higher) had a 32 percent higher risk of death compared to patients with normal weight for their height.

While smoking and obesity had already been found to increase the risk of developing non-Hodgkin”s lymphoma, this is the first U.S. study to look at their role on survival after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin”s lymphoma, the researchers say.

For alcohol, the researchers found that use was associated with poorer survival, which is opposite of the effect for developing non-Hodgkin”s lymphoma, where alcohol appears to lower risk.

The findings mirror conclusions found in three smaller studies, according to the study”s lead investigator, Dr. James Cerhan.

These are the first data from North American patients, and the only study to simultaneously look at all three lifestyle factors, he said.

“This now raises the hypothesis that changing these behaviors after diagnosis might improve survival, but this needs to be tested in a clinical study. In the meantime, patients in active therapy should discuss any lifestyle changes with their health care provider. Long-term survivors outside of therapy should consider the general public health guidelines that recommend smoking cessation, moderate or no alcohol use, and attaining a healthy weight,” he added.

“It is important to note that patients who had quit smoking 20 years or more before diagnosis had no higher risk of death than patients who had never smoked,” said Cerhan.

The study was published in a recent online edition of Cancer. (ANI)

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ICT solutions to transform healthcare, bridge India”s rural-urban health divide ICT solutions to transform healthcare, bridge India”s rural-urban health divide

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 10 (ANI-Business Wire India): Apollo Hospitals, Asia”s largest health care provider, and Cisco today announced an alliance to help transform health care through information and communications technology (ICT).

The joint initiative will help drive inclusive growth and wellbeing by accelerating access to affordable and high-quality health care via the Cisco HealthPresenceT Extended Reach technology.

Speaking about the association, Sangita Reddy, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said: “At Apollo Hospitals, we constantly endeavour to introduce new models to help make quality health care accessible to the masses. The alliance with Cisco will revolutionize the delivery of health care in India. Cisco HealthPresence Extended Reach technology represents significant advances in technology and telecommunication techniques, effectively delivering health care 24×7 remotely.”

This alliance will be executed over three phases with:

- As part of Phase I being announced today, Apollo will leverage ICT to transform its operations.

- Phase II would involve Cisco and Apollo undertaking joint thought leadership activities and developing open healthcare IT industry standards.

- Phase III will see Apollo and Cisco leveraging ICT solutions to transform healthcare in India, APAC, and Emerging countries.

Commenting on the relationship, Wim Elfrink, Chief Globalisation Officer and Executive Vice-President, Cisco Services, said: “We are excited to collaborate closely with Apollo Hospitals to create and showcase various health care solutions. Collaborative technologies, powered by ubiquitous broadband access, will enable access to affordable and high-quality health care services in rural and urban communities. We believe communities, cities, countries and individual lives can be transformed by providing access to socially, economically and environmentally sustainable solutions.”

Health care providers face many challenges in the delivery of health care services In India, particularly to suburban and rural areas. Over the last decade Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, the largest and oldest multi-specialty telemedicine network has met some of these issues in an organized and cost efficient manner.

The integration of Cisco”s desktop based Health Presence Extended Reach technology with Apollo Hospital”s “Medintegra” will now for the first time make available a user friendly, cost effective tele-medicine solution. As part of this initiative, Cisco and Apollo have collaborated in Raichur (Karnataka, South India) to demonstrate how health care in rural areas can be transformed.

With the use of this technology, doctors do not need to visit a telemedicine room to connect with patients; they can now consult with patients from a laptop supported by an Internet connection. A detailed ”clinical examination” and review of all investigations is now possible in a seamless manner with the option of recording the entire interaction.

As a first step, the Apollo Hospitals Group and the Apollo Telemedicine Foundation have started deploying hundreds of the Cisco HealthPresence Extended Reach solution across Apollo remote clinics and super-specialty hospitals, thereby enabling a patient to access any doctor at any point of time across the Apollo system. Prof K. Ganapathy, President of Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation and President Elect of the Telemedicine Society of India observed that this solution would help tele-medicine in India reach that critical mass essential for a successful take off. “We are looking beyond India in deploying this technology. Doctor – anyone, anytime, anywhere will be our slogan” Prof. Ganapathy remarked.

The Cisco HealthPresence Extended Reach solution will help connect patients with medical providers conveniently and efficiently, regardless of distance. Added Vishal Gupta, vice president, Advanced Services, Cisco, “Using the network as a platform for tele-medicine, we create an environment similar to what patients experience when they visit their medical provider. We have combined high definition video and audio, end-to-end telemedicine work flow and remote diagnostics to create an affordable, innovative and scalable solution. In collaboration with Apollo, we can now create Smart + Connected Health care communities not only in urban areas, but also in villages”. (ANI)

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Intervention proves effective in increasing correct breast self-exams

May 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 30 (ANI): In a new study, researchers have found that a brief intervention program boosted the number of women correctly performing breast self- exams by tenfold.

The Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study is one of the first to show intervention programs can be effective in increasing breast self-exams.

Researchers said that this program is a model that can be used to encourage patients’ participation in their own health care, and can be modified to educate patients about other self-screening techniques for cancers such as melanoma and testicular cancer.

“Many women avoid breast self-exams because they are worried about doing them correctly; however, our study showed that with a relatively simple intervention, women can learn the proper technique, and once they feel confident they will continue to do their exams.” said Nangel Lindberg, Ph.D., lead author and investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore.

“This is an excellent opportunity for women to participate in their own health care. Self-exams allow women to become familiar with their breasts, so they can report any changes to their health care provider,” Lindberg added.

The study, conducted from 1998 through 2001, involved more than 600 women, aged 40 to 70, who had a negative mammogram screening within the last two months.

The women were randomized to a group that received dietary counseling with no mention of BSE, or the study group that received a 30 to 45-minute counseling session in which they watched an educational video, practiced BSE on a silicone model, and discussed possible barriers to doing self- exams.

At one and two months after the session, the women also received follow-up phone calls. Before the intervention about six percent of women in both groups were performing adequate self exams – defined as lasting at least five minutes, occurring every month, and fulfilling specific criteria taught during the counseling sessions.

One year after the program, 59 percent of women in the intervention group were performing adequate self-exams, compared to only 12 percent of women who received dietary counseling.

The study is published in the American Journal of Health Promotion. (ANI)

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