Oncology

About 56 percent of cancer survivors have an underlying medical condition associated with increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness, a study published Feb. 3 in Journal of the National Cancer Institute found. 

Cincinnati-based UC Health opened the region's first cancer wellness clinic and began seeing patients last month, according to a Feb. 2 news release. 

Researchers at New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Medicine developed a tumor-killing injection for the treatment of skin cancer that showed promising results in a mouse model study, according to a Feb. 1 news release. 

A judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit brought by patients against Helena, Mont.-based St. Peter's Health and its CEO Wade Johnson, saying the claims must first be filed with the state's medical legal panel, the Independent Record reported Feb. 2. 

These six oncologists joined new practices or received new appointments over the last few months. 

Emil Freireich, MD, an oncologist who worked at Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for more than 50 years, died at the center Feb. 1. He was 93. 

Stories involving the removal of a former oncologist at Helena, Mont.-based St. Peter's Health were Becker's top-read oncology briefs in January. 

When life expectancy reaches less than five years in older breast cancer survivors, clinicians can discontinue mammograms, according to new guidelines published in JAMA Oncology Jan. 28. 

Cervical cancer screening rates dropped substantially at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente's Southern California division after the state implemented a stay-at-home order last spring, the CDC said in a Jan. 29 report. 

A coalition of 76 organizations penned a letter Jan. 28 calling for cancer screenings and treatments to resume amid slow downs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.