CLINICAL NEWS
The Digital Underground
The Truth About Cancer and Opioids
Although telemedicine is gaining ground in the
U.S., the use of telehealth services is still the
exception, rather than the rule.
Patients with cancer are less likely to die from opioid abuse
and misuse than those in the general population, according
to findings from a retrospective analysis.
According to an American Medical Association
(AMA) survey of 3,500 physicians:
Reviewing death certificates from 2006 to 2016 on which
opioids were listed as a contributing cause of death, the re-
searchers reported that the incidence of opioid-related deaths
(per 100,000 people) ranged from 5.33 to 8.97 in the general
population and from 0.52 to 0.66 in the cancer population,
meaning patients were 10 times less likely
than the general
population to die as
a result of opioids
(p value not provided).
worked in practices that
used telemedicine for
patient interactions
(e.g., patient diagnosis and follow-up
visits)
worked in practices that used
telemedicine for interactions
with health-care professionals
(e.g., specialty consultation or second
opinions)
“We found that in addition to specialty, larger practice size was an important correlate of telemedicine use,”
the authors noted, suggesting that “the financial burden of implementing it may be a continuing barrier for
small practices.”
Source: Kane CK, Gillis K. The use of telemedicine by physicians: still the exception rather than the rule. Health Aff. 2018 December 3. [Epub
ahead of print]
CANCER POPULATION
GENERAL POPULATION
The results should reassure hematologists/oncologists
that opioids can be used safely for cancer-related pain
management, the authors concluded, but “care should
be taken when planning effective treatment of cancer-
related pain.”
Source: Chino FL, Kamal A, Chino JP. Opioid-associated deaths in patients
with cancer: A population study of the opioid epidemic over the past 10
years. J Clin Oncol. 2018;36(suppl):230.
Junk the Junk Food
Opting for organic foods might lower the risk of cancers, including breast cancer and several
types of lymphomas, according to findings from a large French cohort study published in
JAMA Internal Medicine.
In a sample of 68,946 volunteers who tracked whether they ate organic or conventional ver-
sions of 16 specific foods over 7 years, people who reported eating organic “most of the time”
had a 25% lower risk of cancer, compared with those who never ate organic (p=0.001).
The authors suggested that the lack of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or genetically modified
organisms in organic foods might explain the lower cancer risk, but these findings need to be
confirmed in further research.
Source: Baudry J, Assmann KE, Touvier M, et al. Association of frequency of organic food consumption with cancer risk:
findings from the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study. JAMA Intern Med; 2018;178:1597-606.
ASHClinicalNews.org
ASH Clinical News
19