FDA Approves Adcetris for Refractory Hodgkin’s Disease and a Rare T-Cell Lymphoma

Late Friday afternoon, the FDA announced its approval, upon accelerated review, of a new drug, Adcetris (brentuximab) for patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma that has relapsed after bone marrow transplant and for some patients with T-cell anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). This interests me for a lot of reasons, among them that I used to work in the field of lymphoma immunology […]

Posted in cancer treatment, Communication, Medical News, Oncology (cancer)Tagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment on FDA Approves Adcetris for Refractory Hodgkin’s Disease and a Rare T-Cell Lymphoma

An Oncologist Considers Rare Lymphomas in Women With Breast Implants

I have to admit that when I first read about the FDA’s report tying rare cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma to breast implants, my mind raced with a strange blend of excitement, intense interest and concern. My thoughts shifted from “wow, that’s really interesting” to “exactly what did the FDA find” to “should I be worried?”

So I’ve decided to write this morning’s post from my perspective as an oncologist

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Informed Consent, Medical News, Pathology, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment on An Oncologist Considers Rare Lymphomas in Women With Breast Implants

FDA Reports on Association of Breast Implants and a Rare Form of Lymphoma

It’s a Pandora’s box, but one that needs be opened. The problem is that if we biopsy every abnor­mality – such as a minor thick­ening or fluid accu­mu­lation adjacent to a breast implant – we’ll hike up the costs and, more impor­tantly, the com­pli­ca­tions asso­ciated: With every needle stick there’s a risk of infection, addi­tional scar for­mation and more. On the other hand, you wouldn’t want to overlook a treatable, early-stage lym­phoma. Women need to know of the risks of implants, which can only be deter­mined if doctors thor­oughly inves­tigate these sorts of complications.

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Medical News, Oncology (cancer), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on FDA Reports on Association of Breast Implants and a Rare Form of Lymphoma
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