This message was sent to ##Email## July 11, 2019     Home  |   About   Subscribe  |   Archive  |   Advertise    ACS CANCER PROGRAMS UPDATES ACS Quality and Safety Conference sessions focus on registrar education Registrars attending the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2019 Quality and Safety Conference in Washington, DC can choose from a range of special cancer education sessions at this year’s event. Participants will gain valuable information that can be widely shared with cancer program colleagues. On Saturday, July 20, multiple sessions will cover a range of relevant topics, such as National Cancer Database (NCDB) data tools, quality research, data evaluation and interpretation, challenging standards, best practices and cancer staging. On Sunday, July 21, registrars can learn more about the Commission on Cancer’s (CoC) Survivorship standard at Building and Maintaining a Cancer Survivorship/Follow-Up Care Program that Meets the Commission on Cancer Standard. 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. June 26 CAnswer Forum LIVE recording now available If you missed the June 26 CAnswer Forum LIVE, you can access the webinar recording, PowerPoint presentation and NAPBC Clarifications, Reminders and Frequently Asked Questions online. An evaluation form is available for those who participated in the live webinar. These 60-minute webinars are scheduled throughout the year and are open to staff at current and prospective CoC, NAPBC and National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) programs. Upcoming CAnswer Forum LIVE webinars are scheduled at 12:00 noon Central Time on September 25 and December 11. 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.     .  SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT Advertisement      AJCC NEWS AJCC celebrates 60th anniversary The American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and the milestone is receiving notice across the medical community. HemOnc Today featured AJCC in an article that included interviews with former ACS Cancer Programs Medical Director David P. Winchester, MD, FACS, and emeritus member of the AJCC Executive Committee Frederick Greene, MD, FACS. An article authored by Drs. Greene and Winchester also was published in the July issue of the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons.  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    NAPBC NEWS NAPBC hosts two important education programs in September The NAPBC will host two important education programs in September. On September 12, Beth Overmoyer, MD, director of the Inflammatory Breast Center Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will lead a webinar on Best Practices in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Dr. Overmoyer will review the clinical presentation of inflammatory breast cancer, discuss the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines and examine best practices for early diagnosis by primary care physicians, Ob-Gyn specialists and advance practice providers. On September 20 at the Hilton Denver City Center in Denver, CO, the NAPBC will host Pursuing Excellence though NAPBC Accreditation. The workshop will provide information to help attendees develop and operate a high-quality breast center and is designed for centers seeking first-time accreditation as well as those seeking re-accreditation. Both programs will offer CME Credit. Registration for both the webinar and the workshop will be open shortly. .  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Remotely Operated Suction Irrigation System VTI’s Remotely Operated Suction Irrigation System (or “ROSI”) presents a new paradigm in suction and irrigation for robot-assisted procedures. The ROSI system gives the console surgeon complete control of suction and irrigation capabilities.  NCDB NEWS NCDB clarification: Coding NAACCR data item 756 Tumor Size Summary When No Size Is Given Question: When a patient has surgery and no size is reported on the path report, how is the tumor size coded? Answer: Record the most accurate measurement of a solid primary tumor based on the rules in STORE. Tumor size code 999 is coded when size is unknown or not applicable. The sites/morphologies where tumor size is not applicable are listed on page 176 of the STORE manual. When a patient has neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery, do not record the size from the pathologic specimen. Code the largest size of the tumor prior to neoadjuvant treatment. If it is unknown, code the size as 999. If no surgical resection is performed, then code the largest measurement of the tumor from the physical exam, imaging, or other diagnostic procedures in this order of priority prior to any form of treatment (see Coding Rules, page 174 of the STORE manual).  HEALTH CARE NEWS AND UPDATES Natural cancer 'cures': What are the risks? Yale Medicine Skyler Johnson, MD, a former Yale School of Medicine chief resident of therapeutic radiology, knows firsthand what it’s like to experience the fear and confusion that come when a family member is diagnosed with cancer. His wife, Laurie, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at age 27. Dr. Johnson—then still in medical school—recalls typing her diagnosis into Google and being bombarded with claims of miracle cancer “cures.”  READ MORE Knowing BRCA status associated with better breast cancer outcomes even without surgery Medical Xpress Ashkenazi Jewish women have a 1-in-40 chance of carrying the BRCA mutation and these BRCA-positive women have an 80 percent lifetime risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. A study by University of Colorado Cancer Center and Shaarei Zedek Medical Center, Israel presented at the European Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting 2019 shows the importance of healthy women knowing their BRCA status, even when these women choose not to undergo prophylactic mastectomy.  READ MORE Blood test may predict risk of recurrence for breast cancer patients Medical Xpress A special blood test may one day predict if a newly diagnosed breast cancer patient will likely relapse years later, a City of Hope study suggests. "This is the first success linking a solid tumor with blood biomarkers — an indicator of whether a patient will remain in remission," said Peter P. Lee, M.D., chair of the Department of Immuno-Oncology at City of Hope and corresponding author of the study.  READ MORE Common cold virus targets and kills bladder cancer IFLScience After millennia of causing mild misery, the common cold virus is giving something back to humanity. A pioneering study has shown that a strain of the common cold virus can infect and kill bladder cancer cells. Reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, scientists at the University of Surrey in the U.K. have treated 15 people with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer using a live strain of coxsackievirus, or CVA21, which typically causes mild flu-like symptoms. They were given an infusion of the bug through a catheter before undergoing surgery to remove and examine the tumors.  READ MORE Cost of cancer deaths tops $94B annually Health Exec The economic cost of the of lost earnings due to cancer deaths in the U.S. was more than $94 billion in 2015, according to a new study published in JAMA Oncology. Researchers from the American Cancer Society set out to estimate the lost earnings from cancer deaths overall and by the major cancers in the U.S. According to researchers, understanding the economic burden of cancer deaths can help inform policies and resource priorities for cancer prevention and control, but there is little available information.  READ MORE New weapons against cancer: Millions of bacteria programmed to kill The New York Times Scientists have used genetically reprogrammed bacteria to destroy tumors in mice. The innovative method one day may lead to cancer therapies that treat the disease more precisely, without the side effects of conventional drugs.  READ MORE Prostate cancer treatment linked to dementia risk HealthDay News via WebMD Soon after a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, drugs that lower levels of testosterone are often offered as treatment, since testosterone fuels the cancer's growth. But a major new study suggests that this approach might have an unwanted side effect: Higher odds for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.  READ MORE Cancer genes and the tumor milieu Science Daily The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a mix of fluids, immune cells and blood vessels which envelops the tumors. Interactions between tumor cells and the TME determine the progression and fate of tumors. Therefore, understanding the composition and functions of the TME is thus very important for keeping cancer in check.  READ MORE Thioredoxin antioxidant could soon be used to improve cancer treatment News Medical Life Sciences Researchers from Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have discovered the use of thioredoxin — a naturally occurring antioxidant to modulate T cells of the immune system. This may be a big step towards improving currently used immune therapies such as adoptive T-cell therapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.  READ MORE What's in a name? The hidden complexities of classifying cancer American Council on Science and Health Christopher Gerry writes: "As much as I enjoy saying “I told you so,” this case is the exception. Eating a thousand plates of crow is a small price to pay when tens of millions of lives are lost every year. While discussing the unconventional 'war' on cancer that’s currently being waged in the U.S., I claimed that our ostensibly war-winning weapon — a universal cure for cancer — is very likely just a mirage."  READ MORE Dentists detect growing number of oral cancers, precursor lesions Healio The number of oral cancers and precursor lesions detected by dentists in Ontario increased sharply over a 10-year period, according to study results. The study included 63,483 biopsies submitted by dentists between 2005 and 2015 to the Toronto Oral Pathology Service — one of Canada’s largest oral pathology services.  READ MORE  IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES Date Event July 19-22 ACS Quality and Safety Conference, Washington, DC July 31 Surgical Resident Scholarship Deadline 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 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