This message was sent to ##Email## May 9, 2019     Home  |   About   Subscribe  |   Archive  |   Advertise   Free NCSD materials from the Cancer Programs All ACS-accredited cancer, breast and rectal centers are encouraged to observe National Cancer Survivors’ Day (NCSD) on June 2, 2019. To help you, the Cancer Programs have created a poster and graphics that can be used to promote this important day within your community and your program. The materials are available on the Marketing Resources page, which can be accessed from the CoC Datalinks web page and the NAPBC portal. For more ideas on how to celebrate National Cancer Survivors’ Day, visit the NCSD website. ACS committee opportunities The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) and Clinical Research Program (CRP) depend on volunteers from their diverse membership to drive the mission and initiatives of the organization and the surgical profession. Serving on a CoC or CRP committee is a great way to contribute to program initiatives, network with colleagues, advance into leadership positions and contribute to improvements in cancer patient care. The ACS Committee Opportunities web page includes information about those ACS committees, including the CoC and CRP, that are looking for new surgeon members to serve. Visit the ACS Committee Opportunities web page for details on what’s involved and how to apply. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2019.    SERVICE SHOWCASE Advertisement Help Doctors Without Borders Today Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is actively recruiting general and trauma surgeons with experience in emergency obstetrics for international missions in developing countries. Learn more Register today for the 2019 ACS Quality and Safety Conference Registration for the 2019 ACS Quality and Safety Conference is now open. This year’s conference will be held in Washington, DC, July 19–22 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. For more information on the program agenda, meeting/events schedule, registration fees, lodging, transportation, preconference workshops and to review our official press release, please visit the Quality and Safety Conference website. Cancer Programs staff on the road Make sure you meet the Cancer Programs staff at the Cancer Programs booth during the following conferences: National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA), May 19–22 in Denver ASCO Annual, May 31–June 4 in Chicago American Society for Colon and Rectal Surgeons, June 1–5 in Cleveland Please stop by and learn what’s new from the Cancer Programs.  CoC NEWS Upcoming important opportunity to provide feedback on revised CoC Standards The Commission on Cancer (CoC) is wrapping up its project to review, revise and enhance the CoC standards for accreditation. To ensure broad-based review and input by our constituent community, we will be presenting a draft that will be posted on the CoC website for public comment and feedback. An e-mail will be sent in mid-May to all of our currently accredited cancer program contacts with information on where to access the revised standards and how to submit feedback. This information will also be included in The Brief. The opportunity to provide feedback will be open for approximately two weeks. Please plan to participate, as your feedback is important to us and will be reviewed and considered as we finalize the standards for publication this fall. Participate in the CoC-sponsored survey on patient navigation As a member organization of the American Cancer Society National Navigation Roundtable, the Commission on Cancer (CoC) is partnering to administer this important survey of navigators (all types, including community, patient navigators, nurse and social work navigators) and program administrators to identify the challenges, successes and barriers to the implementation of cancer patient navigation metrics. The results of this survey will help to identify needed tools and resources for navigators and navigation programs in an effort to support their program. This survey will take 15 to 20 minutes of your time. Your feedback is extremely important, and your responses are completely anonymous. The survey is an open link, so please forward it to other appropriate individuals. The survey will close on June 7, 2019. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact national.navigation.roundtable@cancer.org. New from the CoC member organizations ACR seeks gastrointestinal surgeons to serve on appropriateness criteria committees The American College of Radiology (ACR) Committee on Appropriateness Criteria (AC) is seeking gastrointestinal surgeon volunteers to serve on the following ACR AC committees: Radiologic Management of Lower Gastrointestinal Tract Bleeding (May 2019) Epigastric Pain (August 2019) Hernia (August 2019) Pretreatment Staging of Colorectal Cancer (June 2019) The ACR AC are evidence-based guidelines to assist referring physicians and other providers in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decision for a specific clinical condition. Employing these guidelines helps providers enhance quality of care and contribute to the most efficacious use of radiology. All the ACR AC topics as well as additional information about the program can be found here. All work is done via e-mail and conference calls. No travel is required. The total time commitment is typically six to eight hours per topic. New members should also plan to spend time (one to two hours) reviewing the methodology documents and learning about GRAVITAS, our web-based application tool used in the topic development process. Each topic will be published in the Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR) supplement upon completion. Participation in the topic development process is required in order to be included as an author on publications. Interested individuals should send an e-mail outlining their interest along with their CV to Connie Bura by Friday, May 17.     .  SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT Advertisement      NAPRC NEWS NAPRC calling for Fellows to serve on governance committees The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) is making its inaugural call for American College of Surgeons (ACS) Fellows to populate its governance committees. The NAPRC was launched in late 2017 to help ensure that patients with rectal cancer receive appropriate care using a multidisciplinary approach. The Executive Committee will be the oversight body of the NAPRC with three standing committees focused on specific aspects and goals of the program. The Accreditation Committee will maintain and enforce accreditation standards development and survey processes, the Education Committee will create and disseminate education related to NAPRC standards and the Quality Committee will continuously monitor and refine quality metrics according to evidence-based findings. Other committee members include representatives from the American College of Radiology, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, the College of American Pathologists, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract and the Society of Surgical Oncology. Applicants must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows treating rectal cancer patients in a Commission on Cancer-accredited facility that is actively working toward NAPRC accreditation. Interested individuals should submit a CV and a one-page letter of interest and summary of qualifications to naprc@facs.org by June 15, 2019. For more information for applying for NAPRC committee membership, please visit the ACS Committee Opportunities webpage and click on “NAPRC Governance Committees.” For more information on the NAPRC, please visit the NAPRC website.    SPONSORED CONTENT Advertisement Promoted by InformedDNA What’s Ahead for Precision Medicine? Trends Point to More Automated Decision Support Precision Medicine: A Glossary of Terms How Medicare Coverage of Genetic Counseling Could Decrease Care Costs and Improve Quality Genetic Counseling services from the nation’s largest, lab-independent, full-time staff of certified genetics experts in the U.S. Whitepaper: Eliminating the Hidden Costs of Genetic Testing Claims    NCDB NEWS NAACCR Data Item 1504, 1514, 1524 Radiation Primary Treatment Volume Code 86 Pelvis (NOS, non-visceral): The treatment volume is directed at a primary tumor of the pelvis, but the primary sub-site is not a pelvic organ or is not known or indicated. For example, this code should be used for sarcomas arising from the pelvis. Determination of the exact treatment volume may require assistance from the radiation oncologist for consistent coding. Scenario 1: The patient has a total Prostatectomy with seminal vesical removal Radiation treatment is stated to be directed to the prostate bed Code to volume 86 unless physician documentation states differently Scenario 2: Patient undergoes TAH-BSO for cervical cancer Received post-op radiation to the pelvis. Code to volume 86 unless physician documentation states differently 2019 NCDB Call for Data Submissions Any program that has submitted their files to NCDB already will not need to resubmit them. We thank you for your submission(s).    PRODUCT SHOWCASE Advertisement The Transcutaneous Intraoperative (TQI) Doppler The VTI TQI Doppler system, with its disposable probes, provides a reliable solution for transcutaneous and invasive assessment of vasculature during surgery. In reconstructive applications, the TQI system allows for perioperative localization of perforators, assessment of pedicle anastamosis, as well as assessment of flap viability.  HEALTH CARE NEWS AND UPDATES AI may help in earlier, better breast cancer detection UPI Artificial intelligence is the hot new trend in medicine, and now new research suggests it could help doctors better predict a woman's breast cancer risk. The study is the latest to explore the potential role of artificial intelligence, or AI, in medicine. Typically, it works like this: Researchers develop an algorithm using "deep learning" — where the computer system mimics the brain's neural networks. It's exposed to a large number of images — tumor samples, for example — and it teaches itself to recognize key features.  READ MORE Distribution of lung cancer screening programs in US varies considerably Radiology Business Lung cancer screening programs in the United States have not been distributed properly throughout the country, according to a new study published in Chest. “In this study, we conducted a cluster analysis to examine the similarity and dissimilarity among the current lung cancer screening facilities across the United States in the context of lung cancer incidence and mortality and socioeconomic environment,” wrote lead author Minal S. Kale, MD, MPH, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues.  READ MORE Drugs for invasive breast cancer 'could treat earliest stages of the disease' University of Nottingham via Medical Xpress Drugs used to target HER2-positive invasive breast cancer may also be successful in treating women in the first stages of the disease, researchers at The University of Nottingham have discovered. The findings, published in the British Journal of Cancer and led by experts in the University's School of Medicine, suggest that extending anti-HER2 drugs to this group of women could halt the progression of the disease in many cases and potentially save lives.  READ MORE Public disclosure law improves nurse staffing ratios Oncology Nurse Advisor A New Jersey law requiring hospitals and nursing homes to publicly report the number of patients per nurse has led to better nurse staffing ratios, according to a study published online March 28 in Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice. Pamela B. de Cordova, PhD, RN, from Rutgers, the State University School of Nursing, in Newark, New Jersey, and colleagues examined nurse staffing trends after the New Jersey legislature and governor enacted a law in 2005 mandating that all health care facilities compile, post, and report staffing information.  READ MORE New cancer therapy target found in mitochondria for potential treatment of blood cancers MD Anderson Cancer Center A study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center identified a new therapeutic target in cancer cells and explains how new anti-cancer drugs called imipridones work by inducing cancer cell death in blood cancers, such as acute myeloid leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma. The study revealed a target in mitochondria, called caseinolytic protease P, which, upon activation, breaks down proteins within mitochondria, a process known as mitochondrial proteolysis. A new class of anti-cancer agents, called imipridones, were shown to activate ClpP and cause cancer cell death via mitochondrial proteolysis.  READ MORE Older biological age may increase breast cancer risk Healio Biological age, estimated by measuring DNA methylation, appeared to be a predictor for breast cancer risk, according to study results. “[When looking] at a group of people who are all the same age, some may be perfectly healthy while others are not,” Jacob K. Kresovich, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral fellow in the molecular and genetic epidemiology group of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said in a press release. “That variability in health may be better captured by biologic age than chronologic age.”  READ MORE  IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES Date Event May 19-22 National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) Annual Conference May 31 ACS Committee Opportunities application deadline June 2 National Cancer Survivors Day June 5-7 AOSW Annual Conference, Tucson, AZ June 7 Deadline for CoC-Sponsored Survey on Patient Navigation June 15 ACS Call for NAPRC Fellows Closes June 30 NCDB Call for Data, Final Date for Initial Submissions and Corrections Due July 19-22 ACS Quality and Safety Conference, Washington, DC Oct. 1-31 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Oct. 27-31 ACS Clinical Congress, San Francisco, CA Nov. 21.22 Commission on Cancer Educational Summit, Rosemont, IL   The Brief Connect with AJCC Connect with CoC Connect with NAPBC Recent Issues | Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Advertise | Web Version  Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469-420-2601 | Download media kit Ashley Harrington, Senior Content Editor, 469-420-2642 | Contribute news Disclaimer: The Brief is a digest of news selected for the American College of Surgeons Cancer Programs from thousands of sources by the editors of MultiBriefs, an independent organization that also manages and sells advertising. The American College of Surgeons and Cancer Programs do not endorse any of the advertised products and services. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not of the American College of Surgeons, and the Cancer Programs. American College of Surgeons 633 N Saint Clair Street | Chicago, IL, 60611-3211  | 800-621-4111 | Contact Us  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063