This message was sent to ##Email## June 27, 2019     Home  |   About   Subscribe  |   Archive  |   Advertise    ACS CANCER PROGRAMS UPDATES ACS Quality and Safety Conference sessions focus on NAPBC accreditation challenges and best practices The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) will focus on accreditation challenges and best practices in two sessions on July 20 at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2019 Quality and Safety Conference in Washington, DC. In Challenging Standards: Why Aren’t We all on the Same Page? NAPBC center surveyors and board members will discuss standards that are frequently missed or misinterpreted. Participants will have an opportunity to question panelists regarding the most challenging requirements for compliance. During Best Practices: Is There a Better Way to Fulfill Standards in Difficult Environments, representatives from accredited centers will present novel and creative approaches they have used to overcome logistical hurdles. NAPBC board members will offer additional perspectives on what constitutes a “best practice.” These sessions are two of several special cancer education sessions offered at the 2019 ACS Quality and Safety Conference. A complete list of Cancer Programs-sponsored sessions is available online. Register today by visiting the 2019 Quality and Safety Conference website.    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 Join the CoC and NAPBC surveyor teams The Commission on Cancer (CoC) and the NAPBC are actively seeking medical professionals to join their accreditation survey teams. Physicians with an interest in learning more about patient care around the country, as well as a desire to positively impact the quality of that care, are strongly encouraged to apply. Accreditation by the CoC and NAPBC, quality programs of the American College of Surgeons, demonstrates a cancer program’s commitment to providing high-quality, multidisciplinary, patient-centered cancer care. Surveyors perform a vital service in the accreditation process, through site visits to and evaluation of cancer programs. More information is available in the CoC and NAPBC surveyor applications. Find the Answers at CAnswer Forum CAnswer Forum is an interactive bulletin board where CoC constituents can ask questions, search topics, and connect with the latest CoC news and activities. The bulletin board is designed as an open forum for networking and discussion. Users will find information on a wide variety of topics, including American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM Staging, Cancer Program standards, Standards for Oncology Registry (STORE), National Cancer Database (NCDB), NAPBC and the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC). CAnswer Forum Live, a series of 60-minute webinars scheduled throughout the year, is open to staff at current and prospective CoC, NAPBC and NAPRC programs. Upcoming webinars are scheduled for September 25 and December 11. Go to the CAnswer Forum Live website to learn more and to access recordings of previous broadcasts.     .  SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT Advertisement     Registration open for ACS Clinical Congress 2019 Registration is now open for the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019, October 27-31 in San Francisco, CA. Clinical Congress is the premier annual surgical meeting for educational content, with offerings in areas such as cancer, robotic surgery, opioid-sparing pain management, quality improvement and patient safety. Meeting highlights include the scientific forum, featuring surgical research presentations, late-breaking clinical trials, abstracts and e-posters; educational offerings such as panel sessions and didactic and surgical skills courses; and multiple networking opportunities. Registration is open to all physicians and individuals in the health care field. ACS CRP Applications for resident scholarship opportunity closes June 30 The American College of Surgeons Clinical Research Program (ACS CRP) is offering a limited number of scholarships to general surgery residents who are interested in attending the October 27 didactic course “Designing and Running a Prospective Surgical Clinical Trial” at the upcoming ACS Clinical Congress in San Francisco, CA. The course is designed to teach the methodology of design and implementation of a clinical trial for surgeons interested in developing and leading a prospective trial. Applications are due by June 30, 2019. For additional information, contact ACS CRP staff at clinicalresearchprogram@facs.org  CoC NEWS CoC Paper Competition accepting submissions through July 31 The Commission on Cancer (CoC) is currently accepting submissions for the Annual Cancer Research Paper Competition, which recognizes residents and fellows-in-training for their original research. The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 honorarium plus travel expenses to present the research at the CoC’s Annual Meeting on October 27, 2019, during the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in San Francisco, CA. The entry will be considered for publication in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The authors of the second- and third-place winning abstracts will each receive a $500 cash award and an invitation to present a poster during the Annual Meeting of the CoC. Submissions are being accepted through July 31, 2019, at coc@facs.org.    SPONSORED CONTENT Advertisement Promoted by InformedDNA Cracking the Code: CPT Coding Inaccuracies Lead to Inefficient Authorization for Genetic Testing Provider Outreach Facilitates Better Outcomes for Prior Authorizations of Genetic Testing Genetic Counseling Referral Guide Rebecca Sutphen, MD, FACMG, shares advice on when genetic counseling is beneficial for patients   Draft standards feedback period closed Thank you to those who submitted comments on the CoC Draft Standards! We had an incredible response with approximately 2,500 submissions. The CoC’s Accreditation Committee is currently evaluating matters raised and incorporating any needed changes. We appreciate your consideration, time and expertise regarding this very important matter. Please keep an eye on The Brief for additional updates. .  PRODUCT SHOWCASE VTI 8 MHz Surgical Doppler The VTI 8 MHz Surgical Doppler is FDA cleared for intraoperative evaluation of vasculature, unlike some other Doppler systems. The sterile, single-use probes help to ensure your patient's safety, offer reliability with every use, and can be itemized as a billable supply.  NCDB NEWS NCDB RQRS User Guide Updated NCDB RQRS User Guide minimum EPR calculations fields v18 Effective June 2019, the Rapid Quality Reporting System (RQRS) User Guide (pages 13–16, Table 2b) has been updated to reflect the minimum EPR calculations fields for v18. The following data items were updated: Data item 3826 Estrogen Receptor Percent Positive or Range Data Item 3914 Progesterone Receptor Percent Positive or Range Additional changes for neoadjuvant treatment that will be added to MAC and HT MAC and HT: These measures presently look to pathologic staging as the reference for assessing tumor size. With the staging rule changes that accompanied the AJCC 8th edition, pathologic TNM staging will no longer be recorded for cases undergoing neoadjuvant treatment. For the time being, cases with neoadjuvant treatment are marked as incomplete. We are currently implementing an update to correctly process cases with neoadjuvant therapy staged using the 8th edition.  HEALTH CARE NEWS AND UPDATES Cancer screening: ACS releases annual summary of recommendations Medscape The American Cancer Society (ACS) provides a summary of recommendations for cancer screening (Table 1) each year, including any updates and recent data, and advice for when recommendations cannot be made. In addition to this summary, the 2018 report outlines issues that affect screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer; further explains the 2013 recommendations for lung cancer screening via low-dose computed tomography; compares the ACS recommendations with those of other professional health care organizations; and provides information from the National Health Interview Survey.  READ MORE A journey into cancerland Medscape Being diagnosed with cancer is more than just a devastating shock that upends an individual's life. It is also the start of a journey to a foreign land that is separate from everyday life and is populated by strange ideas, customs, and people: it's a journey into Cancerland.  READ MORE Prostate cancer higher in 9/11 responders: A look at why Medscape The higher incidence of prostate cancers in responders to the attacks in New York City that occurred on September 11, 2001, may be related to responders' exposure to the dust generated from the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers. This dust may have caused changes in inflammatory and immune regulatory mechanisms in prostate tissue, a new study suggests.  READ MORE Cancer patients have better memory, despite dip at diagnosis Medscape Amid the devastation of a cancer diagnosis, there may be one glimmer of relief — the biological processes that lead to cancer seem to work in opposite ways to those for memory loss, a new study suggests. It found that middle-aged and older adults in the U.S. had a better functional memory before being diagnosed with cancer and experienced a slower decline in memory after their cancer diagnosis than similarly-aged adults with no history of cancer.  READ MORE Boosting the cancer-destroying ability of killer T-cells Medical Xpress More types of cancer could potentially be destroyed by patients' own immune cells, thanks to new research by Cardiff University. The team of researchers discovered that increasing the amount of the molecule L-selectin on T-cells can vastly improve their ability to fight solid tumors.  READ MORE By cannibalizing nearby stromal stem cells, some breast cancer cells gain invasion advantage Michigan Health Lab Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and U-M College of Engineering have found that breast cancer cells that swallow up nearby stem cells take on some of their properties, enhancing their ability to invade other tissues throughout the body and seed secondary tumors, a process known as metastasis.  READ MORE The 2 technologies changing the future of cancer treatment The Atlantic Chemotherapy is the most widely known and widely successful treatment for cancer in medical history, but it’s also infamous for its side effects. For millions of people, surviving cancer means hair loss, months of nausea, drastic weight loss and extreme fatigue, among many other bodily reactions that can make the treatment process brutal.  READ MORE MIT AI tool can predict breast cancer up to 5 years early Tech Crunch MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab has developed a new deep learning-based AI prediction model that can anticipate the development of breast cancer up to five years in advance. Researchers working on the product also recognized that other similar projects have often had inherent bias because they were based overwhelmingly on white patient populations, and specifically designed their own model so that it is informed by “more equitable” data that ensures it’s “equally accurate for white and black women.”  READ MORE Yale scientists discover molecular key to how cancer spreads Yale News Yale researchers have discovered how metastasis, the spread of cancer cells throughout the body, is triggered on the molecular level, and have developed a tool with the potential to detect those triggers in patients with certain cancers. The discovery could lead to new ways for treating cancer.  READ MORE More than 5M cancer survivors are in pain HealthDay Reporter via WebMD One-third of U.S. cancer survivors have chronic pain, and 1 in 6 have levels that restrict their daily activities, a new study finds. "The prevalence of chronic pain and high impact chronic pain among cancer survivors in our study was almost double that in the general population, suggesting there are important unmet needs in the large and growing community of people with a history of cancer," said co-author Xuesong Han, an American Cancer Society investigator.  READ MORE Uridine diphosphate glucose found to dampen lung cancer metastasis Medical Xpress In a study published online in Nature recently, research teams led by Dr. Yang Weiwei at the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Dr. Li Guohui from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of CAS reported a new function of uridine diphosphate glucose, a metabolic intermediate in the uronic acid pathway: It impairs lung cancer metastasis by accelerating SNAI1 mRNA decay.  READ MORE Keytruda found to be safe as cancer treatment for HIV patients, Phase 1 trial shows Immuno-Oncology News The immune checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) was found to be a safe treatment for different cancer types among people living with HIV, data from a Phase 1 trial show. The results are likely applicable to other immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the same pathway as Keytruda, the investigators said.  READ MORE  IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES Date Event June 30 NCDB Call for Data, Final Date for Initial Submissions and Corrections Due July 19-22 ACS Quality and Safety Conference, Washington, DC July 31 Commission on Cancer Paper Competition Deadline Sept. 12 Best Practices in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Inflammatory Breast Cancer Sept. 20 Pursuing Excellence Through NAPBC Accreditation Workshop Sept. 25 CAnswer Forum Live 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 Dec. 11 CAnswer Forum Live   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 Victoria Scott, Content Editor, 289-695-5367 | 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