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Steps PCPs can take to prevent cancer in patients
There will be 1,762,450 new cancer cases diagnosed and 606,880 cancer deaths in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Many of these diagnoses and deaths could have been avoided.
The American Association for Cancer Research states on its website that more than 40% of cancer diagnoses and almost 50% of all cancer deaths are related to tobacco use, excessive weight, insufficient exercise, and exposure to the sun, radiation and viruses and thus, are preventable.
In recognition of February’s designation as Cancer Prevention Month, Healio Primary Care Today provides some of the most recent clinical recommendations, research and data related to smoking cessation, obesity, skin cancer and HPV to help primary care providers communicate with their patients. – by Janel Miller
CDC: PCPs must help curb growing youth tobacco ‘crisis’
The CDC recently urged primary care physicians to step up their efforts to identify smokers among their patients aged younger than 18 years. Read more.
E-cigarette use unlikely to help smoking cessation
Abstinence from tobacco was less likely in cigarette smokers who used e-cigarettes after being discharged from the hospital, according to findings published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Read more.
Smokers endorse metabolism-informed care for smoking cessation
Metabolism-informed care — a treatment strategy that matches normal metabolizers with a non-nicotine-based therapy such as Chantix and slow nicotine metabolizers with nicotine replacement therapy patch — was an acceptable option for patients who wanted to stop smoking, according to findings published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Read more.
‘Metabolic flexibility’ required to achieve, maintain weight loss
Employing the concept of metabolic flexibility — the body’s ability to oxidize the type of fuel that is available — may offer the best hope for curbing obesity, according to a speaker at the 2018 Cardiometabolic Health Congress in Boston. Read more.
Weight Watchers provides cost-effective obesity prevention vs. standard care
Commercial weight-management programs, such as the Weight Watchers intervention, may be cost-effective alternatives to standard care for Australian adults with overweight or obesity and should be considered more seriously as part of the national health services, according to a study published in Obesity. Read more.
Eating breakfast may not result in weight loss
Breakfast may not be the most important meal of the day — at least when it comes to losing weight — according to findings recently published in the BMJ. Read more.
What PCPs need to know about early detection of serious skin conditions
Primary care physicians are responsible for detecting and managing a wide variety of conditions, and for some patients, the PCP may be the only doctor they visit with regularity. Because early detection of serious skin conditions like melanoma is crucial to preventing its spread and possible mortality, PCPs can play an important role as the first clinician to see signs of this potentially deadly disease. Read more.
PCP, patient reports of skin exams, patient charts, rarely align
There was significant discrepancy between patient-reported full-body skin exams, physician reports of these exams, and documentation of the exams in patient charts, according to study findings. Read more.
US military personnel may be at increased risk for skin cancer
Active duty military members and veterans in the United States appear to be at elevated risk for melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers, according to study results published in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Read more.
14 million additional adolescents needed to reach HPV vaccination goal
HPV vaccination rates among adolescents must increase substantially for the American Cancer Society to achieve its goal of 80% prevalence by 2026, according to study results published in Cancer. Read more.
HPV vaccine follow-through rates decline sharply
Follow-through with the HPV vaccine is poor and has become worse over time, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Read more.
Study: 78% of women complied with mail-based HPV self-testing program
Almost 80% of women returned HPV self-testing kits in the mail during a pilot study conducted in the Appalachian region of Ohio — an indication that at-home HPV testing can be used to reach underscreened women, researchers reported in Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Read more.
References:
American Association for Cancer Research. “Advancing the science for cancer prevention.”
https://www.aacrfoundation.org/Pages/february-is-national-cancer-prevention-month.aspx. Accessed Feb 6, 2019
American Cancer Society. “What causes cancer?” https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes.html. Accessed Feb. 6, 2019
American Cancer Society. “Cancer facts and figures.” https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/cancer-facts-figures-2019.html. Accessed Feb. 6, 2019.