Dr. Len's Cancer Blog
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J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD, MACP - Dr. Lichtenfeld is Deputy
Chief Medical Officer for the national office of the American Cancer Society.
He directs the Society’s Cancer Control Science Department, which produces the
Society’s widely recognized guidelines for the prevention and early detection
of cancer and guidelines for nutrition and physical activity for cancer
survivors. Additionally, Dr. Lichtenfeld is a frequent spokesperson on a
variety of cancer-related subjects and serves as a liaison for the Society with
many professional and public organizations. More >>
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An article in this week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and a companion news story on the front page of the New York Times has created a firestorm of media interest.
The problem I have with both of the articles is: where’s the news?
Let me cut to the chase, in no small part because I am travelling today and have limited time to write this before and between flights: The American Cancer Society is not working on any stealth project to change commentary on our website to emphasize the shortcomings and risks of screening.
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I have a confession to make: I am not a big fan of “gee whiz” medical technology. At least not until it is proven to really make a difference in the care we provide our patients, or the outcomes of their treatments.
A study in yesterday’s Journal of the American Medical Association comparing the side effects and outcomes of prostate cancer surgery using the robot to more traditional surgery reinforces that notion.
Using the robot to treat prostate cancer surgically may be better in some respects, but not better in others. And maybe not better enough for you to listen to all of the advertising hype about the robot, and forego treatment from a urologic surgeon who in fact may be more skilled at the operation and not use the robot.
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And then there were 44…
No sooner had I completed and posted my blog on Tuesday about the Nobel Prize awarded to a scientist whose research had been supported by the American Cancer Society than the Nobel Prize committee made an additional award in the field of Chemistry to another Society grantee.
The scientist who received the award was Dr. Thomas Steitz from Yale University. The American Cancer Society has been a supporter of Dr. Steitz’ work for many years, having provided two multi-year grants between 1983 and 1997 totaling more than $1 million.
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Yesterday’s announcement that three American scientists won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine serves as a reminder of how important research is in moving forward our progress in diagnosing and treating cancer.
In addition, one of the awardees, Dr. Jack Szostak, was supported in the past with a research grant from the American Cancer Society. That brings to 43 the number of researchers that the American Cancer Society has supported at some time in their careers who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, a truly stunning accomplishment that has not been matched by any other voluntary health organization.
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