Cancer
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Sixty percent of removed solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) are benign. An approach that reduces the unnecessary excision of benign nodules is consistent with the oncologic objective of organ preservation. ⋯ Repeat needle biopsies combined with clinical observation and repeat CT scans can classify an SPN as benign versus malignant with 100% accuracy (95% confidence interval, 96.1-100.0%). An SPN diagnostic approach that includes a TBB, then PCNA, clinical observation, repeat CT scans, and repeat biopsies for continued suspicion of malignancy appears to reduce the unnecessary surgical excision of benign nodules from the current rate of 60% to 5% of SPN resections without affecting the survival of patients who have malignant SPNs.
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Between 30% and 70% of western women experience psychological morbidity after undergoing surgery for breast carcinoma; however, the rates and risk factors among Chinese women are unknown. Identifying at-risk women enables preventive intervention. ⋯ Psychological morbidity was linked to women's TDM difficulties, their inability to anticipate treatment effects accurately, and physical symptom distress, possibly exacerbated by symptom misattribution. Optimizing TDM support and helping women accurately determine outcomes in terms of symptom experience and meaning and physical appearance may help to reduce psychological morbidity. Women who have TDM difficulties should be considered to be at high risk for psychological distress.
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The National Cancer Institute (NCI) designates cancer centers as regional centers of excellence in research and patient care. Although these centers often advertise their superior outcomes, their relative performance has not been examined empirically. In the current study, the authors assessed whether patients at NCI cancer centers compared with patients at control hospitals had lower mortality rates after major cancer surgery. ⋯ For many cancer procedures, patients undergoing surgery at NCI-designated cancer centers had lower surgical mortality rates than those treated at comparably high-volume hospitals, but similar long-term survival rates.