“We’re able to find cancer faster and earlier.”
With the latest CPRIT-funded project, UT Southwestern will collaborate with North Texas civic groups, physicians, community hospitals, and churches. UT Southwestern, a Texas Breast and Cervi- cal Cancer Services (BCCS) contractor, will use state and federal funds to pro- vide regional services. BCCS offers clini- cal breast examinations, mammograms, pelvic examinations, and Pap tests throughout Texas at no or low cost to eli- gible women. To qualify for the program, women must be at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, uninsured or underinsured, and meet certain age requirements. According to UT Southwestern, mam- mography rates in the 17 rural and un- derserved counties served by BSPAN2 are poor. More than 74,000 women haven’t had a mammogram within the past two years. Dr. Lee says the collab- orative, regional approach in BSPAN2 will allow UT Southwestern to provide more than 6,700 screening mammo- grams, 6,100 diagnostic mammograms, and 2,300 biopsies.
“CPRIT has made it possible for us to bring quality care to these underserved counties. We’re able to find cancer faster and earlier,” Dr. Lee said. Eighty percent of the cancers detected
through BSPAN — both in symptomatic and asymptomatic women — have been diagnosed at early stages, Dr. Lee says. “I’m hopeful the BSPAN project can
serve as a model that can be replicated in other parts of the state and nation,” he said.
The University of Texas M.D. An- derson Cancer Center received several
50 TEXAS MEDICINE December 2012
CPRIT grants. A 2010 prevention grant of $298,531 funds an education pro- gram on breast, colon, and prostate can- cer survivors for primary care physicians and providers. Dr. Foxhall, vice president of health policy at M.D. Anderson, is the principal investigator on the project, which includes lectures on breast, colon, and prostate cancers. “The project is intended to provide some background information for pri- mary care clinicians and other health professionals about managing the health issues of cancer survivors. We think it will be increasingly important for physi- cians to be comfortable managing these patients,” Dr. Foxhall said. He explains the lectures inform physi- cians about routine surveillance and pre- ventive measures, lifestyle modifications, screening for second cancers, manage- ment of long-term health problems asso- ciated with treatment, and dealing with psychosocial issues in survivors of breast, colon, and prostate cancers. To view an introductory video and en-
roll in the M.D. Anderson cancer survi- vorship series, visit
http://bit.ly/ds2y6Q.
treatment option for gonorrhea in the United States because of the possibility that the bacteria that causes gonorrhea is becoming resistant to it. Recent trends in laboratory data showing that cefixime (Suprax) is be- coming less effective in treating the sex- ually transmitted disease prompted the change in recommendations. This change leaves only one recom- mended drug proven effective for treat- ing gonorrhea: the injectable antibiotic ceftriaxone. According to the revised guidelines, the most effective treatment for gonorrhea is a combination therapy of ceftriaxone along with one of two oth- er oral antibiotics, either azithromycin or doxycycline.
In the past, gonorrhea has developed
resistance to every antibiotic recom- mended for treatment, leaving the ceph- alosporins, which include cefixime and ceftriaxone, as the final recommended class of drugs. In light of this history and the recent laboratory data, CDC re- searchers worry that continued use of ce- fixime may prompt gonorrhea to develop resistance to all cephalosporins. Limiting the use of cefixime now may help pre- serve ceftriaxone as a treatment option for a little longer. “As cefixime is losing its effectiveness
as a treatment for gonorrhea infections, this change is a critical preemptive strike to preserve ceftriaxone, our last proven treatment option,” said Kevin Fenton, MD, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “Changing how we treat infections now may buy the time needed to develop new treatment options.” To guard against the threat of drug
Oral drug no longer recommended for gonorrhea
The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention (CDC) no longer recommends the oral antibiotic cefixime as a first-line
resistance, the guidelines outline addi- tional follow-up steps physicians should take to closely monitor for ceftriaxone treatment failure. According to the new recommen- dations, patients who have persistent symptoms should be retested with a culture-based gonorrhea test, which can identify antibiotic-resistant infections. The patient should return one week af- ter re-treatment for another culture test — called a test-of-cure — to ensure the infection is cured.
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