Key points from today’s guests:
Morning Rounds – Updates on the Latest News
Dr. Julia White, breast radiation oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- New breast cancer research results show chemotherapy can help breast cancer patients skip some nodal radiation.
- The research studied 1,600 women -- 800 got the radiation, 800 didn't. And at five years of follow up on those patients, the radiation was not needed.
- So if you go through several months of chemo, through a surgery and heal from that, after that the lymph nodes are clear when the pathologist looks at them.
- As you can imagine, if you've been at treatment for several months, that’s almost nine months to not have to go through the radiation Monday through Friday, five days a week for three to six weeks, which is remarkable.
Focus Topic
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System
- Those types of results require years of research. Those are the end results of the scientific process.
- The very beginning of the scientific process is very important and there is a new way for Kansans to participate in a nationwide study.
- It's important to conduct research with as many different people as possible. That's why a nationwide research program called All of Us is working to enroll one million people to improve health care through research.
- It is important that people in the Midwest are represented in this study, which could greatly increase the development of precision medicine treatments tailored for an individual patient.
- Signups will likely begin in the Spring at AllOfUs.org.
Tammy Peterman, president, Kansas City Division, The University of Kansas Health System
- This is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health as they will develop one of the largest healthcare databases in the world.
- This will actually help pave the path to precision medicine. That's really important because what we know is this will help inform hundreds and probably thousands of studies in the future so that we can target very specific treatment modalities based upon individuals and their differences.
- I also think it's important that here in the Midwest we are represented.
- We're very proud to be participating in this. It is certainly a big deal for our organization, The University of Kansas Medical Center and The University of Kansas Health System.
- It is also essential to have a really broad database, particularly as we're looking at all of these diverse populations, including rural settings in the heartland.
- The goal is to enroll 6,000 participants from this area in the first year.
- We have people who are dedicated to continuing to advance medicine. Paving the path for precision medicine is the way of the future.
Dr. Matthias Salathe, vice chancellor of research, The University of Kansas Medical Center
- After a few months, participants will have their whole genome sequenced. And if you're willing to get that information, you will get it with your primary care physician.
- This will help identify if we have already identified certain risk adjustments. And if you're interested, we actually will tell you what these are if you have them and will be could do so you don't have to wait 10 years to actually get a benefit. You will get more many more benefits if more is known.
- Theoretically, you could tailor each therapy to a patient’s genetic profile, which makes this more precise treatment.
- When we look at these biomarkers, we can hopefully predict with many more diseases, what are the diseases that you are at risk of and prevent them through tailored interventions. That is different from you coming to the physician and already having a disease.
- We are living in an incredibly exciting time. This is transformation in medicine and diversity representation is important.
COVID Updates
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System
- The COVID inpatient count is 26 this week, a decrease from 33 last week.
- COVID testing over the past three weeks has increased. And so we have to believe that with increased testing, we’ll see increased cases. And so far what we’ve seen is an increased percent positive of that testing.
- The best thing we can do is prepare -- so be up to date with your vaccines and wear a mask if you want to. We know that masking does help provide reduced risk of infection to those that wear the mask if it is properly fitting, even if people around you are not wearing it.
- The other major factor is good hand hygiene. We know that those high touch surfaces are contaminated with those viruses all the time. And that is a major way that people get the infections.
Friday, December 22 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Weight loss journeys don’t end after bariatric surgery. From 365 pounds to 174 pounds, hear from one woman about the ups and downs of her weight loss.
ATTENTION MEDIA: Please note access is with Microsoft Teams:
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 235 659 792 451
Passcode: 6CSfGE
Download Teams | Join on the web
Or call in (audio only)
+1 913-318-8863,566341546# United States, Kansas City
TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI
Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital
YouTube.com/kuhospital
Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.