The patient A 67-year-old woman with a past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema presented with a spiculated right upper-lobe nodule that was previously 8 millimeters in size on CT scan of the lung. In six months, it had increased in size to 1.1 centimeters. The challenge The lung nodule was small,…
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its lung cancer screening guidelines in 2021 to include younger patients and those who smoked less than the previous recommendation. The current USPSTF lung cancer screening guidelines are for adults between ages 50 and 80 who have a 20-pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within…
As a medical oncologist at Norton Cancer Institute, I’ve seen remarkable advances in how we treat lung cancer. Lung cancers caught early can now often be successfully treated. Unfortunately, Kentucky has a massive lung cancer problem. We have the highest rate of lung cancer in the nation, and we rank 45th among the 49 states…
“Gastrointestinal cancers can occur anywhere from the esophagus to the rectum. This includes cancers of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum and anus, as well as the bile duct, pancreas and liver,” said Robert C.G. Martin, M.D., Ph.D., surgical oncologist with Norton Cancer Institute. “They include the second- and third-deadliest cancers in the United…
Researchers are recruiting pediatric medulloblastoma patients for a novel use of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) to prevent relapse. The multisite study, sponsored by the Beat Childhood Cancer Consortium and led by Michael Angelo C. Huang, M.D., pediatric neuro-oncologist at Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, looks at whether DFMO offers a new…
A human Phase 1 immunotherapy clinical trial is underway using natural killer cells, or NK cells, to target relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Acute myeloid leukemia patients who have exhausted other treatment options are potential candidates for the trial, ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05470140. The trial uses cytokine-reprogrammed, non-engineered, “off-the-shelf” NK cells from a healthy donor….
The 28th Gail Klein Garlove Lectureship on Nov. 1 is titled “Advancing Precision Medicine Through New Discoveries and Technologies,” and will be presented by Sameek Roychowdhury, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the cancer genomics laboratory and medical oncologist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James. The event is hosted by Norton Healthcare…
At some point in their life, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer. Approximately 20% of breast cancer cases are familial, affecting two or more women in the same family, usually at a later age. An estimated 5% to 10% of breast cancers are caused by a genetic mutation, called hereditary breast cancer. Red…
Fine needle aspiration (FNA) can provide a timelier evaluation of neck masses than open biopsy, thus saving time, money and potentially improving health outcomes with earlier diagnosis and treatment. Fine needle aspiration for head and neck masses Masses felt by the clinician or detected with imaging scans often require further testing. Options for obtaining tissue…
Norton Cancer Institute is the only site in Louisville offering lutetium Lu 177 dotatate (Lutathera), a second-line treatment targeting advanced-stage neuroendocrine tumors in adult patients. The drug is indicated when a patient starts to lose response to the first-line therapies, lanreotide (Somatuline) and octreotide acetate (Sandostatin). Norton Cancer Institute To refer a patient to Norton…
Infants and children can be prone to anemia for a variety of reasons throughout their first years of life and adolescence. Anemia can be caused by diet, blood loss or other health conditions. Signs and symptoms may include pallor, jaundice, scleral icterus, exercise and/or feeding intolerance and general fatigue. Anemia can be detected during a…
The prognosis for gastric cancer is closely tied to the stage of the diagnosis. When found early, gastric cancer has a better survival rate. “Given the difference early diagnosis can make, it’s important that clinicians are aware of the red flags for gastric cancer,” said Jaspreet S. Grewal, M.D., Ph.D., a gastrointestinal oncologist at Norton…