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Each month new RadioGraphics articles and CME tests that qualify for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are posted on RSNA's online education resource, InteractED®. To see the most current article titles, visit our Web site and click the RadioGraphics CME Tests link.
RSNA members have access to many free educational opportunities, including more than 300 online peer-reviewed InteractED® programs that qualify for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and RSNA SAMs (self-assessment modules) that are "qualified by the American Board of Radiology (ABR)" in meeting the criteria for self-assessment toward fulfilling the requirements of the ABR Maintenance of Certification Program.
Clarification
A story in the Feb. 3, 2009, issue of RSNA Weekly, "Use of 7 Tesla MRTs Expanding," did not detail the full scope of MR research conducted worldwide at strengths of 7 T and above. To create RSNA Weekly, editors at Information, Inc. select news from hundreds of sources, including the mainstream and popular science media, which at times contain inaccuracies that then appear in RSNA Weekly.
Headlines
Leading the News
Research
Technology
Medical-Legal Issues
Clinical Practice
Industry News
Leading the News
Radiation From Cardiac CT Scans Varies
Radiation doses from cardiac CT scans tend to vary considerably depending on the radiation-exposure reduction strategies used at each facility, according to research led by Jörg Hausleiter of the Deutsches Herzzentrum München. In fact, Hasusleiter and colleagues found radiation exposures at the highest-dose sites were six times as high as those at the lowest-dose sites. They also found that on average, the radiation exposure from a single, 64-slice CT scan was equivalent to exposure from 600 conventional chest X-rays. However the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that variations in patient-exposure to radiation were largely dependent on strategies to lower radiation exposure and were not significantly influenced by technician error. In order to minimize variation in radiation dose levels, the American Medical Association has published new guidelines regarding the use of cardiac CT to diagnose cardiovascular disease. The recommendations, published in Circulation, advise radiologists to carefully consider whether patients with chest pain or other symptoms of cardiovascular complications will benefit from imaging. They also advise radiologists not to use CT scans to screen asymptomatic patients who are at risk for cardiovascular disease.
From "Radiation From Cardiac CT Scans Varies"
WebMD (02/03/09) Boyles, Salynn
Research
Breast Cancer Patients not Getting Needed Radiation Therapy
Nearly one out of every five women who undergo mastectomy as part of their treatment for breast cancer do not follow the surgery with radiation treatment, according to a study led by university of Michigan radiation oncologist Dr. Reshma Jagsi. The study, published in the journal Cancer, showed that 19 percent of women whose medical records indicated they had undergone mastectomy and could benefit from radiation therapy to reduce the risk of reoccurrence did not undergo radiation. The most common reason respondents in the study cited for not receiving the treatment was that their physicians had not recommended it.
From "Breast Cancer Patients not Getting Needed Radiation Therapy"
Los Angeles Times (02/04/09) Healy, Melissa
Radiation Does Not Increase Toxicity When Used With Capecitabine and Cisplatin
Researchers, led by Samsung Medical Center Dr. Jeeyun Lee, have found that the use of radiation with cisplatin and capecitabine does not significantly increase toxicity when compared to cisplatin and capecitabine alone. Lee and his team randomly assigned 228 patients to receive cisplatin and capecitabine alone and 230 patients to receive the chemotherapy drugs plus radiation. The results of their study, reported at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, showed that only 0.2 percent of patients in the chemotherapy plus radiation group experienced severe toxicity, compared to 0.46 percent of patients who received chemotherapy alone. Additionally, 82 percent of patients receiving both radiation and chemotherapy completed treatment, compared to just 75 percent of the group who received chemotherapy alone.
From "Radiation Did Not Increase Toxicity When Used With Capecitabine and Cisplatin"
HemOnc Today (01/20/2009) Harris, Jason
U.S Experts Forsee More Effective Cancer Radiation
Stanford University Prof. Robert Cho and his colleagues have discovered that antioxidants present in cancer stem cells that may cause the cells to be more resistant to radiation than normal cancer cells. Their work, published in the journal Nature, showed that breast cancer stem cells have much higher levels of antioxidants that protect their DNA and proteins from oxidative stress caused by radiation and other cancer treatments. The researchers also found that by using a drug to block the action of the antioxidant protein glutathione, the breast cancer stem cells were made more vulnerable to radiation.
From "U.S Experts Forsee More Effective Cancer Radiation"
Reuters (02/04/09) Steenhuysen, Julie
Technology
Shear Mode Transcranial Ultrasound Shows Excellent Correlation with MRI
Researchers have found that the shear mode of transcranial ultrasound can be used for imaging purposes during neurosurgery. Images obtained from a device using this method were compared to MRI in 10 participants. Investigators note that images obtained using ultrasound showed excellent correlation with the structural localization abilities of MRI. Additionally, overall SNR of the ultrasound backscatter signals were statistically equivalent to that of the MRI data.
From "An Intraoperative Brain Shift Monitor Using Shear Mode Transcranial Ultrasound"
Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine (02/01/09) Vol. 28, No. 2, P. 191; White, P. Jason; Whalen, Stephen; Tang, Sai Chun
Medical-Legal Issues
CMS Releases PQRI Reporting Measures That Affect Radiologists
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has released the Measure Applicability Validation process for 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). According to the new standards, satisfactory PQRI reporting will be determined for healthcare providers who achieve a reporting rate of at least 80 percent for fewer than three submitted measures. The validation process will also analyze whether participants should submit quality-data codes for additional measures. Of the possible measures, there are five that could be reportable by radiologists including measures 10, 11, 145, 146, and 147.
From "CMS Releases PQRI Reporting Measures That Affect Radiologists"
HealthImaging.com (01/22/2009)
Clinical Practice
Exercise May Keep Fatigue at Bay in Men Undergoing Radiation for Prostate Cancer
A recent study conducted by Canadian researchers found that regular exercise can help patients undergoing radiation for the treatment of prostate cancer lessen the amount of fatigue they feel. For the purposes of their research, R.J. Segal and his colleagues selected 121 men undergoing radiation to perform regular aerobic or resistance exercise or participate in a "usual care" regimen. The result of the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, showed that resistance and aerobic exercise both mitigated fatigue in men with prostate cancer receiving radiation treatments. However, resistance exercise generated longer-term improvements.
From "Exercise May Keep Fatigue at Bay in Men Undergoing Radiation for Prostate Cancer"
Daily Cancer News (01/27/09)
Pediatric CT Solution Provides Radiation Dose-Reduction Guidelines
Drs. Mannudepp K. Kalra, Sjirk Westra, and Sarabjeet Singh, MBBS, MMST have developed a number of recommendations to reduce radiation exposure by basing CT dosage levels on a patient's weight, scan type, number of prior CT studies, and 3D automatic exposure control. The researchers found that in pediatric CT studies, these procedure-based protocols were used in slightly more than half of chest CTs and almost 75 percent of abdominal CTs. However, compliance increased to 80 percent after radiologists were educated regarding the reasoning behind the protocols.
From "New GE Healthcare Pediatric CT Solution Provides Lower Dose, Improved Image Quality"
HealthNewsDigest (01/28/09)
Radiation Therapy: Outcomes, Logistics Assist Dermatologists in Decisions for NMSC Treatment
University of Pennsylvania Prof. Aerlyn G. Dawn and colleagues have reviewed guidelines for the use of radiation to treat nonmelanoma skin cancers. These guidelines are based on information derived from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), published articles identified in a literature review, and clinical experience in radiation oncology suites. The NCCN recommends radiation therapy as a possible treatment for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck in patients over the age of 60 years and who are not surgical candidates. Recommended radiation therapy margins are between 5 mm and 10 mm for tumors less than 20 mm and 15 mm to 20 mm for larger lesions. Specific decision about treatment fields should include tumor depth, tumor borders, and whether there is perineural invasion or lymph node involvement. Recommended fractionation schemes are between 15 and 30.
From "Radiation Therapy: Outcomes, Logistics Assist Dermatologists in Decisions for NMSC Treatment"
Modern Medicine (01/30/09) Guttman, Cheryl
Industry News
Study Anticipates Shortage of Mammography Professionals
Researchers from the Albany School of Public health, led by Dr. Margaret Langelier, have found that there will be an increasing shortage of radiologists qualified to perform mammography in coming years. According to their research, published in the American Journal of Roentgenology, the significant reduction in mammography professionals per woman over the age of 40 is the result of the increasing percentage of the population of women who will be over 40 years of age in the next 20 years.
From "Mammogram Wait Gets Worse"
Chicago Tribune (02/04/09) Deardorff, Julie
RSNA Weekly is a briefing of the latest radiology-related news selected from hundreds of sources by the editors of Information, Inc. While care is taken to use good sources, inaccuracies in source material are not the responsibility of RSNA or Information, Inc.
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