Primary Care Relationship Impacts Cancer Screenings

According to MedPage Today, only about half of older Medicaid patients receive recommended screening for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancers, largely because their physicians don't recommend the tests, researchers here reported.

About half of eligible Medicaid patients had evidence of screening when medical record and claims data were analyzed together.

Previous studies have shown that Medicaid recipients are more likely to have an advanced stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis than patients with other sources of health insurance, the researchers said.

And other studies have found that patients with lower socioeconomic status have lower rates of cancer screening.

All patients in this study, however, had "access to primary care and full coverage of cancer screening services under Medicaid," the researchers said.

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Excess Weight and Insulin Increase Prostate Cancer Mortality

Multiple studies have indicated that obesity before or at the time of prostate cancer diagnosis increases the mortality risk. However, they have not attempted to explain the association, the authors said.

Among obesity-driven metabolic changes that could influence prostate cancer mortality, hyperinsulinemia stands out as a prime suspect, they continued.

Laboratory studies demonstrated that mice fed a high-energy diet gained weight, became hyperinsulinemic, had accelerated growth of prostate cancer xenografts, and had increased downstream signaling of the insulin receptor in neoplastic prostate tissue.

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Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Sparks Heart Trouble

According to an article in MedPage Today, stress and anxiety after receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer may trigger cardiovascular events, researchers said here.

Men were at a 50% elevated risk of fatal cardiovascular events in the year after prostate cancer diagnosis and a 30% greater risk of a nonfatal event, according to a large population-based study presented here at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

Events were most likely in the first week after diagnosis and in younger men and those without cardiovascular risk factors, reported Fang Fang, M.D., of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues.

These findings may not be surprising because of the well-established link between emotional stress and cardiovascular events, said Bruce J. Roth, M.D., of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn., who commented on the study as chair of the conference program committee.

Although it's likely that the same effect would be seen in patients diagnosed with any type of cancer, Dr. Roth said there are implications for prostate cancer screening.

Read the rest of the article at MedPage.