/ en Wed, 30 Apr 2025 06:10:47 -0500 Tue, 29 Apr 25 08:24:40 -0500 /news/headline/2025-04-29-study-shows-successful-use-immunotherapy-drug-instead-traditional-options-treat-cancer <p>A New England Journal of Medicine <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2404512" target="_blank">study</a> published yesterday found success in administering dostarlimab, an immunotherapy drug, to a group of 103 cancer patients instead of traditional methods such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. All 49 patients of the first cohort, who had rectal cancer, had their cancer disappear and continued treatment with nonoperative management. The second cohort of patients had other cancers, and 35 of 54 in that group had their cancer eradicated. Thirty-three continued with nonoperative treatment. </p> Tue, 29 Apr 2025 08:24:40 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /role-hospitals-university-oklahoma-cancer-center-implements-new-technology-make-cancer-care-more-comfortable <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-oklahoma-radiation-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="University of Oklahoma Medical Center. A patient receiving radiation therapy is viewed from inside the machine looking out" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>The Stephenson Cancer Center at University of Oklahoma Medical Center is the second hospital in the nation to introduce a groundbreaking cancer treatment called surface-guided radiation therapy. The treatment uses a non-invasive technology known as the Accuray Radixact System, offering cancer patients faster, more precise and comfortable treatments. The Radixact System delivers image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy, helping health care teams to effectively position patients and target tumors with increased accuracy while protecting healthy tissue. This advanced technology is particularly beneficial for patients with tumors in challenging locations, such as the lungs or near critical organs, as it minimizes the impact on surrounding healthy tissue. It can also track tumors in real time and adjust treatment to account for changes in tumor size.</p><p>“Every advancement in cancer treatment technology means new hope for our patients,” said Jerry Jaboin, M.D., radiation oncologist at the Stephenson Cancer Center. “With the Radixact System, we can offer more patients access to precise, personalized treatment plans that fit their specific needs while minimizing disruption to their daily lives."</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.ouhealth.com/blog/2025/january/new-cancer-treatment-technology-at-stephenson-ca/" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a></p></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Mon, 28 Apr 2025 12:03:06 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /role-hospitals-providence-alaska-medical-center-innovative-therapy-prostate-cancer <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-providence-alaska-prostate-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Providence Alaska. A male physician sits talking with an older male patient" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>In 2025, researchers predict about 313,780 new diagnoses of prostate cancer and 34,770 deaths across the United States. But those cases aren’t evenly spread across the country. Mortality rates for Alaskans, for example, are typically higher than the general population due to a range of factors including limited access to treatment. For Alaska Native men, the number is even higher. Study findings show that overall prostate cancer rates for American Indian and Alaska Native men are 12% lower than white men, but mortality rates are 31% higher. For Alaska Native men, the number is even higher. Study findings show that overall prostate cancer rates for American Indian and Alaska Native men are 12% lower than white men, but mortality rates are 31% higher.</p><p>In Anchorage, Providence Alaska Medical Center has become the first facility in the state to offer an innovative treatment for metastatic prostate cancer. In March, the hospital began administering Pluvicto, a targeted therapy designed to identify and kill prostate cancer cells that express a protein known as prostate-specific membrane antigen. Pluvicto is different from traditional chemotherapy and radiation treatments because it specifically targets these cancer cells, minimizing damage to healthy cells. </p><p>“Pluvicto is one of the only treatments that improves overall survival in men with prostate cancer that has spread elsewhere in the body and is no longer responding to hormonal treatments,” said Dr. John Halligan, radiation oncologist and medical director of Radiation Oncology at Providence Cancer Center. </p><p>Treatment data shows that combining Pluvicto with standard chemotherapy and radiation led to 30% of men experiencing tumor reduction or disappearance. In contrast, those who received standard therapy alone saw a 2% reduction. Thanks to this new therapy, Alaskans no longer need to travel to the Lower 48 to receive this care.<br><br><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.nnbw.com/news/2025/mar/06/healthcare-industry-focus-conrad-breast-center-expected-to-open-this-summer/" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a></p><p> </p></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:44:08 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /role-hospitals-renown-healths-comprehensive-hub-breast-cancer-care <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-renown-breast-cancer-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Renown Health. A female physician holds a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon " width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>This spring, the Renown Specialty Care Center at Renown Health in Reno, Nev., will open the <a href="https://www.renown.org/Health-Services/Cancer-Care/Breast-Health" target="_blank">Conrad Breast Center</a>, a multidisciplinary, one-stop shop for breast health and wellness.</p><p>The center, which will open on the third floor of the hospital, will feature state-of-the-art diagnostic medical equipment such as 3D mammography, breast MRI and breast ultrasound. It will also feature a breast wellness center for patients with a high genetic risk of developing breast and other types of cancers. These services will be available in one place, reducing travel requirements for patients and setting the facility apart from other care centers in the community.</p><p>“It was very fragmented, but now it will all be under one roof,” said Madeline Hardacre, oncology wellness physician at Renown Health. “It allows us to treat patients in a more collaborative and comprehensive way, which is better for our community since everything will all be located in one center.”</p><p>Certain cancer-related services, like medical oncology and chemotherapy infusion services, will remain at the main hospital campus. But most breast-specific services will be housed in the new center.</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.nnbw.com/news/2025/mar/06/healthcare-industry-focus-conrad-breast-center-expected-to-open-this-summer/" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a></p><p> </p></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:49:45 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /news/headline/2025-04-21-report-finds-steady-decline-cancer-death-rates <p>Overall cancer death rates declined steadily among both men and women from 2018 through 2022, according to the National Institutes of Health's latest <a href="https://seer.cancer.gov/report_to_nation/">annual report</a>. Cancer death rates decreased an average of 1.7% per year for men and 1.3% per year for women. Progress in reducing cancer deaths overall is mostly due to declines in both incidence and death rates for lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers, but cancers associated with obesity have been increasing, researchers <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2025/annual-report-to-the-nation">noted</a>.</p> Mon, 21 Apr 2025 15:12:00 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /news/headline/2025-04-17-study-finds-increased-rates-pancreatic-colon-cancer-among-young-people <p>A <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2832755" target="_blank">study</a> published April 14 by JAMA Network Open found that rates of pancreatic and colon cancer rose among young adults from 2000-2021. Researchers examined 275,273 cases of pancreatic cancer and 215,200 cases of colon cancer during that period. </p><p>For people age 15-34, pancreatic cancer rates rose 4.35%, while the rate for those age 35-54 grew 1.54% and 1.74% for those older than 55. Colon cancer rates grew 1.75% for people aged 15-34 and 0.78% for those aged 35-54, while individuals 55 and older experienced a decrease of 3.31%. </p> Thu, 17 Apr 2025 14:48:49 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /news/headline/2025-04-11-cms-releases-agenda-new-administrator-mehmet-oz <p>The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 10 released key <a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/dr-mehmet-oz-shares-vision-cms">priorities</a> for new CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, who was confirmed to the position April 3. They include implementing the Trump administration’s Feb. 25 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/making-america-healthy-again-by-empowering-patients-with-clear-accurate-and-actionable-healthcare-pricing-information/">executive order</a> on improving and increasing enforcement of existing hospital and insurer price transparency requirements. Other priorities include holding providers accountable for health outcomes, streamlining access to life-saving treatments, fostering prevention and chronic disease treatment and stopping wasteful spending, fraud and abuse. </p> Fri, 11 Apr 2025 14:46:53 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2025-04-08-fda-clears-apple-watch-powered-platform-seizure-monitoring <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/The-FDA-Clears-Apple-Watch-Powered-Platform-for-Seizure-Monitoring.png" data-entity-uuid="9da944d2-03f7-4aea-a13c-79bffa21d7fc" data-entity-type="file" alt="The FDA Clears Apple Watch-Powered Platform for Seizure Monitoring. An EpiWatch monitoring a brain for seizures." width="1200" height="646"><p>In a significant step forward for wearable health tech, <a href="https://www.epiwatch.com/" target="_blank" title="EpiWatch homepage">EpiWatch</a> — a Johns Hopkins Medicine spinout — has received <a href="https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpmn/pmn.cfm?ID=K243515" target="_blank" title="FDA: EpiWatch Monitoring System 510(k) Premarket Notification">FDA 510(k) premarket clearance</a> for its seizure detection platform that runs on the Apple Watch. The platform is designed to continuously monitor for tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures, a form of epilepsy that causes full-body convulsions and loss of consciousness.</p><p>EpiWatch’s Apple Watch-based app goes beyond detection, offering medication reminders, tracking potential seizure triggers, mental health screening and seizure logging. It's an important advance in remote patient monitoring for individuals living with epilepsy and is part of a long-term collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine, powered by Apple’s <a href="https://www.researchandcare.org/researchkit/" target="_blank" title="ResearchKit landing page">ResearchKit</a>, Apple’s open-source software.</p><p>“This marks a significant step forward in fulfilling our mission to empower all people living with epilepsy,” said Teresa Prego, EpiWatch CEO. The company plans a limited market release to collaborate with clinicians and users and refine the platform’s support and education features.</p><p>Wearables increasingly are gaining FDA attention as tools for proactive health monitoring. In February, Google received clearance for an <a href="https://blog.google/feed/pixel-watch-3-loss-of-pulse-detection-fda/" target="_blank" title="Google Blog: Loss of Pulse Detection has received U.S. FDA clearance, and is now available on Pixel Watch 3.">AI-based loss-of-pulse detection feature</a> on the Pixel Watch 3. The Apple Watch Series 10 recently earned FDA clearance for <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/09/apple-introduces-groundbreaking-health-features/" target="_blank" title="Apple Newsroom: Apple introduces groundbreaking health features to support conditions impacting billions of people">sleep apnea detection</a>, while its AirPods Pro 2 include <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/09/apple-introduces-groundbreaking-health-features/" target="_blank" title="Apple Newsroom: Apple introduces groundbreaking health features to support conditions impacting billions of people">machine learning-powered hearing aid functionality</a> — following the FDA’s 2022 rule enabling over-the-counter hearing aids.</p><p>For hospital leaders, these developments signal accelerating momentum behind wearable tech as a companion to clinical care, enabling more proactive, personalized health management and potentially easing the burden on emergency services and chronic disease management.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><a href="/center" title="Visit the AHA Center for Health Innovation landing page."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/logo-aha-innovation-center-color-sm.jpg" data-entity-uuid="7ade6b12-de98-4d0b-965f-a7c99d9463c5" alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation logo" width="721" height="130" data-entity- type="file" class="align-center"></a></p><p><a href="/center/form/innovation-subscription"><img src="/sites/default/files/2019-04/Market_Scan_Call_Out_360x300.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type alt width="360" height="300"></a></p></div></div></div>.field_featured_image { position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } .featured-image{ position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } h2 { color: #9d2235; } Tue, 08 Apr 2025 06:00:00 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /news/headline/2025-04-03-study-cannabis-consumers-under-50-are-6-times-more-likely-have-heart-attack <p>People under age 50 who consume cannabis are 6.2 times more likely to experience a heart attack than individuals who do not, according to a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772963X25001152?via%3Dihub">study</a> published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It also found that cannabis users under 50 are 4.3 times more likely to experience an ischemic stroke and twice more likely to experience heart failure. <br> <br>The study surveyed more than 4.6 million people under 50, and none had pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, coronary artery disease or diabetes. None of the people also used tobacco. </p> Thu, 03 Apr 2025 16:08:48 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases /news/headline/2025-03-26-nih-study-finds-light-levels-daily-activity-can-reduce-cancer-risk <p>A <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/daily-physical-activity-even-light-intensities-linked-lower-cancer-risk" target="_blank">study</a> published March 26 by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Oxford found that individuals who engaged in light and moderate-to-vigorous daily physical activity had a lower cancer risk than those with more a sedentary lifestyle. The study found that higher daily step counts, but not pace, was also associated with a lower cancer risk. In comparison to cancer risk for individuals taking 5,000 steps per day, risk was 11% lower for those taking 7,000 steps per day and 16% lower for those taking 9,000 steps per day. Risk reduction plateaued beyond 9,000 steps. </p> Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:31:38 -0500 Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases