Chuck Norris has good news for overweight people

Chuck Norris has good news for overweight people

"Diet and exercise – two things we think of as a foundation for healthy living. Just consider the findings of a recently published report in the International Journal of Epidemiology. As if any more proof were needed, it makes a clear connection between eating more of certain fruits and vegetables and living longer. According to a Meta study conducted by Imperial College London, it’s estimated that if people ate 10 portions of fruits and vegetables a day, an estimated 7.8 million premature global deaths could be avoided each year. For the study, a portion was characterized as 800 grams (for context, consider that one medium apple constitutes around 182 grams).

Those who consume up to 10 portions fruits and vegetables a day are said to be rewarded with a 24 percent lower risk of heart disease, a 33 percent lower risk of stroke, a 28 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a 13 percent lower risk of cancer and a 31 percent lower risk of dying early when compared to not eating fruit or vegetables."

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/chuck-norris-relates-something-overweight-people-should-know/#MBtT260UDQOBRy08.99

"Qatar is home to one of the most unequal societies in the world when it comes to gender, according to a new index."

Qatar’s gender gap is one of the largest in the world, new index says

"Qatar is home to one of the most unequal societies in the world when it comes to gender, according to a new index.

The country ranked 117th out of 122 nations listed in business school INSEAD‘s Gender Progress Index 2017, which was released this month.

That puts Qatar behind all of its Gulf peers.

According to the report, the low score had to do with a lack of female political involvement, as well as the low number of men pursuing higher education in Qatar.

That said, none of the Gulf countries fared particularly well in the index.

The UAE was the highest-ranked GCC nation at 85th. Kuwait was 99th, Bahrain 103rd, Saudi Arabia 110th and Oman was 113th."

"Households that quit tobacco spend less in areas that enable or complement their tobacco cessation, most of which may be motivated by financial strain."

Tob Control. 2017 Mar 16. pii: tobaccocontrol-2016-053424. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2016-053424. [Epub ahead of print]

Tobacco cessation and household spending on non-tobacco goods: results from the US Consumer Expenditure Surveys.

Rogers ES1,2, Dave DM3,4, Pozen A5, Fahs M5, Gallo WT5.

Author information

1

Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA erin.rogers@nyumc.org.

2

VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York, USA.

3

Department of Economics, Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.

4

National Bureau of Economic Research, New York, USA.

5

Department of Health Policy and Management, City University of New York School of Public Health, New York, USA.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To estimate the impact of tobacco cessation on household spending on non-tobacco goods in the USA.

METHODS:

Using 2006-2015 Consumer Expenditure Survey data, 9130 tobacco-consuming households were followed for four quarters. Households were categorised during the fourth quarter as having: (1) recent tobacco cessation, (2) long-term cessation, (3) relapsed cessation or (4) no cessation. Generalised linear models were used to compare fourth quarter expenditures on alcohol, food at home, food away from home, housing, healthcare, transportation, entertainment and other goods between the no-cessation households and those with recent, long-term or relapsed cessation. The full sample was analysed, and then analysed by income quartile.

RESULTS:

In the full sample, households with long-term and recent cessation had lower spending on alcohol, food, entertainment and transportation (p<0.001). Recent cessation was further associated with reduced spending on food at home (p<0.001), whereas relapsed cessation was associated with higher spending on healthcare and food away from home (p<0.001). In the highest income quartile, long-term and recent cessations were associated with reduced alcohol spending only (p<0.001), whereas in the lowest income quartile, long-term and recent cessations were associated with lower spending on alcohol, food at home, transportation and entertainment (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Households that quit tobacco spend less in areas that enable or complement their tobacco cessation, most of which may be motivated by financial strain. The most robust association between tobacco cessation and spending was the significantly lower spending on alcohol.

Government is power. "Companies will need to adjust."

VAT will curb unhealthy consumption

"VAT and excise duties will change the behaviour of individuals, companies and countries. It is essential that the GCC apply it together, otherwise there is a risk that smuggling will increase.

Companies will need to adjust. Tax and duties will represent an increased cost to them, a cost that they will initially have to pass on to their customers. But over time, they may find different ways to source or produce their products, which may bring the price of producing the product down. There is, naturally, no guarantee that consumers will see any reductions, but they might, particularly on products that are sensitive to price: companies are always keen to keep impulse purchases low, because otherwise consumers won’t buy so many."

Psychosom Med. 2017 Feb 17. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000461. [Epub ahead of print]

PTSD, Orientation to Pain, and Pain Perception in Ex-prisoners of War who Underwent Torture.

Tsur N1, Defrin R, Ginzburg K.

Author information

1

1The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel 2Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Studies suggest that torture survivors often suffer long-term chronic pain and increased pain perception. However, it is unclear whether the actual experience of torture, or rather the subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), explains these pain problems. Furthermore, while catastrophic and fearful orientations to pain have been suggested to play a significant role in the association between trauma and pain, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined whether chronic pain and pain perception among torture survivors are associated with torture experience or PTSD and whether catastrophic and fearful orientations mediate or moderate these associations.

METHODS:

Fifty-nine ex-prisoners of war who underwent torture and 44 matched veterans participated in this study. Pain perception was evaluated by assessing pain-threshold, and reactivity to experimental suprathreshold noxious stimuli. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires assessing PTSD, chronic pain, pain catastrophizing, and fear of pain.

RESULTS:

While chronic pain was associated with PTSD (.44<β<.49; p<.002), increased pain perception was correlated with torture (.33<β<.65; p<.05). Pain catastrophizing was found to mediate the association between PTSD and chronic pain (β=.18, .19; p<.05). Fear of pain moderated the association between torture and pain perception (β=.41, .42; p<.017).

CONCLUSIONS:

The findings suggest that chronic pain is contingent upon the psychological toll of torture, i.e. PTSD. This study also indicates that PTSD exacerbates catastrophic orientation, which in turn may amplify chronic pain. Reactivity to experimental noxious stimuli was related to prior experiences of torture, which enhances perceived pain intensity when interacting with a fearful pain orientation. These findings highlight the significance of orientation to bodily experiences following trauma.

“I worry that the philosophy of the country is going towards health, happiness, smoke weed...”

World's first marijuana gym is in (where else?) California

Dr. Scott Krakower, assistant unit chief of psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital in New York, said the option is dangerous.

“I worry that the philosophy of the country is going towards health, happiness, smoke weed,” Krakower said. "You are glorifying weed and saying it’s this agent that’s going to cure everything. I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”

"Majority of health professionals have unfavorable attitudes toward the patients presenting with self-harm, which further compromises their therapeutic endeavors and outcomes."

Ind Psychiatry J. 2016 Jan-Jun;25(1):17-22. doi: 10.4103/0972-6748.196050.

Medical students' attitude toward suicide attempters.

Nebhinani N1, Chahal S2, Jagtiani A2, Nebhinani M3, Gupta R2.

Author information

1

Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

2

Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India.

3

College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Majority of health professionals have unfavorable attitudes toward the patients presenting with self-harm, which further compromises their therapeutic endeavors and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES:

This study was aimed to assess the medical students' attitudes toward suicide attempters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care medical institute of Haryana, a Northern state of India. Two hundred and five final year medical students were recruited through total enumeration method. "Suicide Opinion Questionnaire" was administered to assess their attitudes toward suicide attempters.

RESULTS:

Only minority had previous exposure of managing any suicidal patient and attended suicide prevention programs. Majority agreed for suicide attempters being lonely and depressed. Nearly half of the students reported small family, disturbed interpersonal relationship, weak personality, self-punishment approach, cultural inhibitions in emotional expression, national instability, and disbelief in afterlife, as a major push to attempt suicide. Compared to boys, girls reported the greater contribution of weak personality and self-destructive behaviors and lesser contribution of family disturbances and religious convictions as suicide triggers. They held favorable attitude for only one-third of the attitudinal statement, and they were uncertain for two-third of the attitudinal statements.

CONCLUSIONS:

Such a high proportion of uncertain responses imply toward lack of awareness and clinical expertise for managing suicide attempters. It also signifies the urgent need for enhancing their educational and clinical exposure, to improve their attitudes toward patients presenting with self-harm.

"I don’t know where or when I learned that I needed to curb any narcissistic tendency I might feel, even in grieving, but I most certainly caught on quick."

The Essential Mundanity of Grief

BY JULIA COOPER

I don’t know where or when I learned that I needed to curb any narcissistic tendency I might feel, even in grieving, but I most certainly caught on quick.

"I don’t know where or when I learned that I needed to curb any narcissistic tendency I might feel, even in grieving, but I most certainly caught on quick. I recently found a diary I had sporadically written in the year following my mom’s death. It makes my nerves itch to read it, not because of what it says, but because of what it so actively and assertively avoids saying. Even in the privacy of my own pages, I didn’t let myself wallow in my loss. I wrote about everything except it. I wrote about the boy I was fixated on, about reading Melville, and—this is as close as I got to the truth—about how I was feeling a general sense of malaise.

It’s no sin to be obsessed with dating and crushes at nineteen. I should give sad nineteen-year-old me a break. But then there is also a repeated refrain throughout the journal that seems impossible to believe at face value, and if I hadn’t been the author of it myself I would be tempted to call it fake. In these pages, my younger self keeps wondering why I can’t just be “happy.” I keep wondering if art will be my path toward this elusive happiness, or if continuing to study literature will deliver the clap of inspiration I felt my life was missing. I wrote entry after entry confused about my sadness, as though the reason weren’t right in front of me: I’d lost my mom and was trying to live on as if it was not so big a deal. I was pledging a clueless allegiance to a happiness script even in the gloaming of my grief."

"Scientists say that smoking cannabis increases the risk of stroke by 26 percent and heart failure by 10 percent."

Study: Smoking marijuana raises the risk of heart attack, stroke

"Scientists say that smoking cannabis increases the risk of stroke by 26 percent and heart failure by 10 percent.

The drug was also linked to a variety of factors known to increase cardiovascular risk, including obesity, high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use.

As more states look to legalize the drug, or to prescribe it medically to alleviate symptoms of other diseases, the study sheds new light on how the drug can seriously affect cardiovascular health.

"Wife beating is the most common and widespread form of intimate partner violence in Ethiopia."

BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2017 Mar 16;17(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s12914-017-0115-5.

Wife beating refusal among women of reproductive age in urban and rural Ethiopia.

Gurmu E1,2, Endale S3.

Author information

1

Center for Population Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. eshetugurmu@gmail.com.

2

Population and Gender Research Unit, Institute of Development and Policy Research, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. eshetugurmu@gmail.com.

3

Population and Gender Research Unit, Institute of Development and Policy Research, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Wife beating is the most common and widespread form of intimate partner violence in Ethiopia. It results in countless severe health, socio-economic and psychological problems and has contributed to the violation of human rights including the liberty of women to enjoy conjugal life. The main purpose of this study is to assess the levels and patterns of wife beating refusal and its associated socio-cultural and demographic factors in rural and urban Ethiopia.

METHODS:

The 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data based on 11,097 and 5287 women in the reproductive age group (i.e. 15-49 years) living in rural and urban areas, respectively,were used in this study. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of the measure of women's attitudes towards wife beating. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was applied to analyze the data. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify variables that significantly predict respondents' refusal of wife beating. Separate analysis by a place of residence was undertaken as attitude towards wife beating vary between rural and urban areas.

RESULTS:

The likelihood of refusing wife beating in Ethiopia was significantly higher among urban women (54.2%) than rural women (24.5%). Although there was a significant variations in attitude towards refusing wife beating among different regions in Ethiopia, increasing educational level, high access to media, age of respondents were associated with high level of refusal of wife beating. In contrast, rural residence, being in marital union, high number of living children, being followers of some religions (Muslim followers in urban and Protestants in rural) were associated with low level of refusal of wife beating.

CONCLUSION:

The findings of this study reveal that wife beating in Ethiopia is a function of demographic and socio-cultural factors among which age and educational attainment of respondents, number of living children, religious affiliation, marital commitment and region of residence play significant roles. As factors governing perceptions and behaviours of individuals and institutional settings appear to shape knowledge and attitude towards gender equity and equality, awareness creation and behavioural change initiatives should be considered to abolish violence against women.

"Bariatric surgery is commonly viewed as a 'low-effort' means of losing weight, and individuals who opt for this surgery are often perceived to be 'cheating.'"

Anthropol Med. 2017 Apr;24(1):96-110. doi: 10.1080/13648470.2016.1249339. Epub 2017 Feb 8.

Not 'Taking the Easy Way Out': Reframing Bariatric Surgery from Low-effort Weight Loss to Hard Work.

Trainer S1, Brewis A2, Wutich A2.

Author information

1

a MC-ASU Obesity Solutions Initiative , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA.

2

b The School of Human Evolution and Social Change , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA.

Abstract

Cultural notions equating greater morality and virtue with hard work and productive output are deeply embedded in American value systems. This is exemplified in how people understand and execute personal body projects, including efforts to become slim. Bariatric surgery is commonly viewed as a 'low-effort' means of losing weight, and individuals who opt for this surgery are often perceived to be 'cheating.' This extended ethnographic study within one bariatric program in the Southwestern United States shows how patients conscientiously perform this productivity. By prioritizing discourses that focus on their own hard work and the inherent value and necessity of their surgery, patients and practitioners alike contest the dominant public views of surgically-induced weight loss.

"Women do not have an active role in the workplace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Res Theory Nurs Pract. 2016 Nov 1;30(4):302-319. doi: 10.1891/1541-6577.30.4.302.

The Challenges of Cultural Competency Among Expatriate Nurses Working in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Alosaimi DN1, Ahmad MM.

Author information

1

College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

To explore the cultural challenges facing expatriate nurses working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Women do not have an active role in the workplace in KSA. Concepts of religion, culture, and language are considered to be crucial and often the lack of women's participation is attributed to these factors.

METHODS:

A descriptive qualitative approach was used with two methods of data collection: interviews and focus group. The study was located in a hospital setting in Al-Riyadh at KSA. There were 20 non-Muslim nurses of different nationalities who participated in this study.

RESULTS:

Several themes emerging from the nurses' experience of caring for Muslims such as the inability to carry out nursing duties because of religious and cultural factors and language barriers. Most of the nurses have provided similar examples and discussed the same issues, such as patient's families, fasting, and prayer having a negative impact on care from their perspective.

CONCLUSION:

There is a lack of expatriate nurses' orientation concerning religion and culture. The nurses acknowledged the importance of language when they start dealing directly with patients and associated this language barrier with their inability to provide proper care.

"When some scientists hear the word "bioethics," they break out in intellectual hives."

PLoS Biol. 2017 Mar 16;15(3):e2001934. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001934. eCollection 2017.

Genome editing: Bioethics shows the way.

Neuhaus CP1, Caplan AL1.

Author information

1

Division of Medical Ethics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.

Abstract

When some scientists hear the word "bioethics," they break out in intellectual hives. They shouldn't. Good bioethics is about enabling science to move forward. Bioethics pushes scientists to acknowledge that they operate not within a vacuum but within a society in which diverse perspectives and values must be engaged. Bioethicists give voice to those divergent perspectives and provide a framework to facilitate informed and inclusive discussions that spur progress, rather than stall it. The field is needed to advance cutting-edge biomedical research in domains in which the benefits to be had are enormous, such as genome editing, but ethical concerns persist.

Esophagus and stomach: Being overweight in your 20s increases your risk of these 2 cancers by 60 per cent

Being overweight in your 20s increases your risk of these 2 cancers by 60 per cent

By Carmen Chai

"If you’re in your 20s and trying to lose weight, new research may inspire you to get started: American scientists say that people who are overweight in their 20s and become obese later in life are three times more likely to develop esophagus and stomach cancer.

It could be because of decades of acid reflux problems, heartburn and tampering with hormones as youth put on excess weight. The findings come out of the U.S. National Cancer Institute – it’s the latest findings pointing to obesity as a key factor in cancer risk."

"The trouble is, once you accept the proposition that popularity corresponds to value, the game is over for the performing arts."

THE FATE OF THE CRITIC IN THE CLICKBAIT AGE

By Alex Ross

   March 13, 2017

"The trouble is, once you accept the proposition that popularity corresponds to value, the game is over for the performing arts. There is no longer any justification for giving space to classical music, jazz, dance, or any other artistic activity that fails to ignite mass enthusiasm. In a cultural-Darwinist world where only the buzziest survive, the arts section would consist solely of superhero-movie reviews, TV-show recaps, and instant-reaction think pieces about pop superstars. Never mind that such entities hardly need the publicity, having achieved market saturation through social media." 

Osteoblast-derived lipocalin 2 suppresses appetite

• Claire Greenhill

Nature Reviews Endocrinology

 

(2017)

 

doi:10.1038/nrendo.2017.30

Published online

 

17 March 2017

"Lipocalin 2 is associated with obesity and was previously thought to be mainly secreted by adipose tissue; however, Stavroula Kousteni and colleagues now show that osteoblasts express lipocalin 2 at levels tenfold higher than in white adipose tissue. To determine the metabolic function of osteoblast-derived lipocalin 2, the investigators generated mice lacking lipocalin 2 in osteoblasts, adipocytes or globally."

Economics to launch a great weekend!

Economics to launch a great weekend!

Round One

Round Two

Weighed down: 20 years of Government action on obesity

"In the run-up to the 2008 election, the Labour-led government's efforts to tackle obesity became a hot topic, with National accusing it of taking a "nanny state" approach to Kiwis' food choices.

The debate was heightened by the Government's plans to rewrite the decades-old Public Health Bill, with National claiming it could allow politicians to decide what went in school lunch boxes and when people should use public transport.

Those "nanny state" fears were seen as in part responsible for National's victory at the 2008 election, and led to a sharp change in approach to government work on obesity.

New education minister Anne Tolley scrapped the restrictions on junk food at schools, saying teachers should not have to act as 'food police'."

SAM SACHDEVA

"Even before the 2014 draft guidance for LDT, many laboratorians saw the FDA as encroaching on the practice of laboratory medicine."

Ken Gatter, MD, JD (2017) FDA Oversight of Laboratory-Developed Tests: Where Are We Now?. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine In-Press.

Early Online Release

FDA Oversight of Laboratory-Developed Tests: Where Are We Now?

Ken Gatter, MD, JD

From the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland.

"Even before the 2014 draft guidance for LDT, many laboratorians saw the FDA as encroaching on the practice of laboratory medicine."

cf., 

http://www.archivesofpathology.org/doi/pdf/10.5858/arpa.2012-0077-ED

and

http://www.archivesofpathology.org/doi/pdf/10.5858/arpa.2013-0020-ED

"In Mexico, sugar is love."

The fattest nation on earth: Mexico's desperate battle with the sugar addiction that is crippling and killing millions

With five million clinically obese people living in Mexico City alone, the government introduced the levy to combat the problem - and now the UK is looking to follow their example

"She said: 'In Mexico, sugar is love. Parents see how happy it makes their children and so they give it to them over and over again. There are many socio-economic reasons too including that often those who are poor cannot afford a healthy diet and the food they can buy is piled high with sugar.'"

Obesity is the "HIV of our age"

Obesity is the ‘HIV of our age’: Warning over condition linked to FIFTEEN cancers

OBESITY experts from across the country are holding urgent talks as the condition was described as the health epidemic of our age.

"'The idea that walking 30 minutes a day is all you need to do to stay healthy is nonsense.

“Obesity is killing millions of people across the country and costing the NHS billions, despite it being preventable.'

Studies have linked increased risks of at least 15 cancers including breast cancer, liver cancer and colon cancer to obesity, as well as a long list of severe health problems including type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, arthritis, coronary heart disease and stroke."

Sci Eng Ethics. 2017 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s11948-017-9897-z. [Epub ahead of print]

Mentoring for Responsible Research: The Creation of a Curriculum for Faculty to Teach RCR in the Research Environment.

Plemmons DK1, Kalichman MW2.

Author information

1

Research Ethics Education Program, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, 133 University Office Building, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA. dena.plemmons@ucr.edu.

2

Research Ethics Program, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., MC 0612, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0612, USA.

Abstract

Despite more than 25 years of a requirement for training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR), there is still little consensus about what such training should include, how it should be delivered, nor what constitutes "effectiveness" of such training. This lack of consensus on content, approaches and outcomes is evident in recent data showing high variability in the development and implementation of RCR instruction across universities and programs. If we accept that one of the primary aims of instruction in RCR/research ethics is "to foster a community of social responsibility" (Antes et al. 2009: 398), then it makes sense to consider the research environment itself-where learning one's science happens where one also engages in social interaction around that science. In order to take the best advantage of that already existing/naturally occurring research environment, the authors, through a deliberative, collaborative, and integrative process, crafted a workshop curriculum meant to arm research faculty with concrete and specific tools to effectively introduce research ethics in the context of the research environment.

"oil pulling"

Beating fatigue through exercise

'Another stamina-boosting method that some people swear by and one I haven’t attempted myself is oil pulling.

Used primarily in Ayurvedic medicine, oil pulling is a ritual that is done by swishing a tablespoon of oil (usually coconut, olive or sesame oil) in your mouth for 10-20 minutes after you awaken in the morning.'

Read more at http://www.star2.com/living/viewpoints/2017/03/12/beating-fatigue-through-exercise/#oikkrrd62W9ExeMx.99

Am Surg. 2017 Feb 1;83(2):119-126.

The Fundamentals of Resident Dismissal.

Schenarts PJ, Langenfeld S.

Abstract

Residents have the rights and responsibilities of both students and employees. Dismissal of a resident from a training program is traumatic and has lasting repercussions for the program director, the faculty, the dismissed resident, and the residency. A review of English language literature was performed using PUBMED and OVID databases, using the search terms, resident dismissal, resident termination, student dismissal, student and resident evaluation, legal aspects of education, and remediation. The references of each publication were also reviewed to identify additional appropriate citations. If the Just Cause threshold has been met, educators have the absolute discretion to evaluate academic and clinical performance. Legal opinion has stated that it is not necessary to wait until a patient is harmed to dismiss a resident. Evaluations should be standard and robust. Negative evaluations are not defamatory as the resident gave consent to be evaluated. Provided departmental and institutional polices have been followed, a resident can be dismissed without a formal hearing. Residencies are entitled to modify academic requirements and dismissal is not considered a breach of contract. Although there is anxiety regarding resident dismissal, the courts have uniformly supported faculty having this role. When indicated, failure to dismiss a resident also places the program director and the faculty at risk for educational malpractice.

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2016 Aug;140(8):825-9. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2016-0163-SA. Epub 2016 May 19.

Liquid Biopsy in Lung Cancer: A Perspective From Members of the Pulmonary Pathology Society.

Sholl LM, Aisner DL, Allen TC, Beasley MB, Cagle PT, Capelozzi VL, Dacic S, Hariri LP, Kerr KM, Lantuejoul S, Mino-Kenudson M, Raparia K, Rekhtman N, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Thunnissen E, Tsao M, Vivero M, Yatabe Y1.

Author information

1

From the Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (Drs Sholl and Vivero); the Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Cancer Center, Denver (Dr Aisner); the Department of Pathology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (Dr Allen); the Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (Dr Beasley); the Department of Pathology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, and the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas (Dr Cagle); the Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil (Dr Capelozzi); the Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Dr Dacic); the Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston (Drs Hariri and Mino-Kenudson); the Department of Pathology, Aberdeen University Medical School and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom (Dr Kerr); the Department of Biopathology, Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon, France, and J Fourier University-INSERM U 823-Institut A Bonniot, Grenoble, France (Dr Lantuejoul); the Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois (Dr Raparia); the Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (Dr Rekhtman); the Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (Dr Roy-Chowdhuri); the Department of Pathology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Dr Thunnissen); the Department of Pathology, University Health Network/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Dr Tsao); and the Department of Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Aichi Cancer Center, Nagoya, Japan (Dr Yatabe).

Abstract

Liquid biopsy has received extensive media coverage and has been called the holy grail of cancer detection. Attempts at circulating tumor cell and genetic material capture have been progressing for several years, and recent financially and technically feasible improvements of cell capture devices, plasma isolation techniques, and highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction- and sequencing-based methods have advanced the possibility of liquid biopsy of solid tumors. Although practical use of circulating RNA-based testing has been hindered by the need to fractionate blood to enrich for RNAs, the detection of circulating tumor cells has profited from advances in cell capture technology. In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved one circulating tumor cell selection platform, the CellSearch System. Although the use of liquid biopsy in a patient population with a genomically defined solid tumor may potentially be clinically useful, it currently does not supersede conventional pretreatment tissue diagnosis of lung cancer. Liquid biopsy has not been validated for lung cancer diagnosis, and its lower sensitivity could lead to significant diagnostic delay if liquid biopsy were to be used in lieu of tissue biopsy. Ultimately, notwithstanding the enthusiasm encompassing liquid biopsy, its clinical utility remains unproven.