Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cervical Cancer Survival Rates And Risks No Better With Less-Invasive Surgery
NPR: Cervical Cancer Patients Face Greater Risks With Minimally Invasive Surgery
A treatment for early stage cervical cancer that has rapidly gained acceptance in the United States turns out to be worse than standard surgery, according to two studies. The practice, now thrown into question, is called minimally invasive surgery. Instruments are threaded through small incisions, and surgeons use those to remove a diseased uterus. This technique has been growing in popularity since 2006 and has been widely adopted. (Harris, 10/31)
The New York Times: Studies Warn Against Minimally Invasive Surgery For Cervical Cancer
Compared with the older, open abdominal operation, the minimally invasive approach was more likely to result in recurrence of the cancer and death, researchers found, in the first study that rigorously tested the two methods. The results, published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, had been circulating among cancer specialists in recent months and are already changing medical practices. Minimally invasive surgery for cervical cancer had been regarded as an advance that would help women: It lets patients recover faster, and since it had proved safe for other cancers, it was expected to be safe for cervical cancer, too. (Grady, 10/31)
USA Today Network: Cervical Cancer: Less-Invasive Hysterectomy Doesn't Raise Chances Of Survival, Study Shows
The study says more research is needed about the seemingly counterintuitive conclusion. But the results could change how cervical cancer is treated in the United States. “What’s interesting is that in no other study for any other cancer or any other benign condition have we ever found worse overall survival rates for minimally invasive surgical options,” said Dr. Daniel Margul of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the study’s co-author. (Saker, 10/31)
CNN: In Cervical Cancer Surgery, Minimally Invasive Is Worse Than Open, Study Says
Radical hysterectomy, or removal of the uterus, cervix and other parts of the female reproductive system, is a recommended treatment for many patients with early-stage cervical cancer. Introduced in 1992, minimally invasive radical hysterectomy -- in which smaller incisions are made with either a laparoscopic or a robot-assisted procedure -- increased in popularity over time. Today, about 40% of cervical cancer hysterectomies are minimally invasive, according to Brigham and Women's Hospital. (Scutti, 10/31)
In other surgical treatment news —
The Associated Press: Appendix Removal Is Linked To Lower Risk Of Parkinson's
Scientists have found a new clue that Parkinson’s disease may get its start not in the brain but in the gut — maybe in the appendix. People who had their appendix removed early in life had a lower risk of getting the tremor-inducing brain disease decades later, researchers reported Wednesday. (Neergaard, 10/31)
