Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Should 30 pack-years of smoking history really be the threshold at which individuals get CT screening for lung cancer? A new study being presented at this week's American Thoracic Society meeting raises that question.
Researchers from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Boston performed a small study of a group of veterans who in addition to smoking history had other factors putting them at high risk for lung cancer, such as exposure to asbestos or Agent Orange. With respect to smoking, the VA researchers used a 20-pack-year history as their threshold, rather than the 30-pack-year history employed in the landmark National Lung Screening Trial (NLST).
The VA researchers found a higher prevalence of disease in their study cohort compared to the NLST participants, suggesting that CT lung screening could be effective at lower smoking thresholds. But is the study confounded by its small sample size and the presence of other risk factors in the population? Read more by clicking here, or visit our CT Digital Community at ct.auntminnie.com.
How to restructure your center
The imaging services industry is facing massive changes, and that's leading many imaging center operators to consider fundamental changes in the way they've structured their business.
Fortunately, we're providing you with some guidance on that front in an article by associate editor Kate Madden Yee from this week's Radiology Business Management Association Radiology Summit in Colorado Springs, CO.
The story profiles a talk by attorney W. Kenneth Davis Jr., who presents some of the options for restructuring. These range from aligning more closely with a hospital to joining forces with other imaging centers. And, of course, there's always the nuclear option: selling the business entirely.
Read more by clicking here, or visit the community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
A farewell to Peter Ogle
On another note, I am saddened to report the passing of longtime radiology journalist Peter Ogle on May 18 at his home in Corvallis, OR, after a long battle with melanoma.
Peter was the editor of Diagnostic Imaging during the magazine's heyday, a 20-year span stretching from 1982 to 2002. Under his steady guidance, DI shipped monthly issues the size of phone books featuring high-quality editorial content that addressed -- and sometimes defined -- the weighty issues of the day facing radiology.
Peter's influence on the world of radiology journalism was profound. AuntMinnie.com senior editor Erik L. Ridley and I worked with Peter in the 1990s prior to joining AuntMinnie.com, and he instilled in us and many others the belief that trade journalism should aspire to the same high standards as any other news reporting. It's a commitment we carry with us every day.
Always an accomplished and talented writer, Peter chronicled his journey with melanoma in his blog, the Ogler. In sharing his thoughts and experiences over the past several years, Peter has undoubtedly also been an inspiration for so many living with this terrible disease.
Goodbye, Peter ... we'll miss you.
