PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Structural racism persists in radiotherapy

An article in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences emphasizes the urgent need for new, more inclusive modern medical terminology and grading tools to help reduce racial bias in radiotherapy treatment and education

Structural racism persists in radiotherapy
2023-11-30
(Press-News.org) Philadelphia, November 30, 2023 – Everyone should get quality care, no matter the color of their skin. However, implicit bias, micro-aggressions, and a lack of cultural understanding persist, leading to oppression and unequal treatment in healthcare. An insightful article in the new themed issue of the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences on specialized populations, published by Elsevier, highlights this serious problem, specifically addressing the assessment and treatment of radiation-induced skin reactions (RISR) in patients across the world undergoing external beam radiotherapy.

The article provides a stark example of how outdated perceptions and racialized myths have resulted in inadequate care for people of color globally. It discusses widely used assessment tools originally designed for white skin, which do not account for the diverse skin tones of patients. As a result, patients of color often face delayed recognition and management of adverse reactions, causing significant distress and burden on healthcare systems.

The article presents a historic clinical case from a Society of Radiographers special interest group in which a black patient with head and neck cancer was advised that their skin should be more resistant to radiation damage. The patient described the subsequent reaction to radiotherapy as their skin “was on fire,” causing them significant distress. The incident led to the patient seeking psychological support and reporting they felt “helpless.”

Radiation can harm anyone's skin, no matter its color. The way we check for skin problems during treatment doesn't always work for everyone. To address this issue, the author calls for a more inclusive and ethnically conscious approach in medical education and clinical practice. He emphasizes the importance of understanding and acknowledging the unique characteristics of brown and black skin, including the visual and tactile differences in how RISR presents.

The healthcare industry is urged to adopt new, more inclusive medical terminology and grading tools to ensure that patient-centered care is provided to individuals of all racial backgrounds. The article underscores the critical need for education and collaboration to mitigate implicit biases and improve care for people of color.

Author Naman Julka-Anderson, Research Radiographer at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, explains, “It is essential that new and more inclusive guidance is developed for clinicians who deliver radiotherapy, ensuring that treatment and care are appropriately tailored to people of color. Understanding the diverse skin tones of patients and addressing the structural racism that exists within healthcare are imperative steps to ensure equitable care for all individuals.”

The article concludes with a call for a more inclusive and ethnically conscious approach in medical education and clinical practice, emphasizing the importance of understanding the diverse skin tones of patients. The author suggests that addressing these issues is crucial to reducing racial bias, racial health disparities, and structural racism within healthcare services and ensuring patient-centered care for everyone.

 

 

 

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Structural racism persists in radiotherapy Structural racism persists in radiotherapy 2 Structural racism persists in radiotherapy 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

BU researcher receives K01 grant to study how nutrition impacts TB incidence, mortality

2023-11-30
(Boston)—Pranay Sinha, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, has received a National Institutes of Health Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01). These awards provide support and protected time (three to five years) for an intensive, supervised, career development experience in the biomedical, behavioral or clinical sciences, leading to research independence. As part of this honor, Sinha has received a five-year, $640,508 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant for his project, “Nutritional Interventions to End Tuberculosis ...

Researchers show an old law still holds for quirky quantum materials

Researchers show an old law still holds for quirky quantum materials
2023-11-30
Long before researchers discovered the electron and its role in generating electrical current, they knew about electricity and were exploring its potential. One thing they learned early on was that metals were great conductors of both electricity and heat. And in 1853, two scientists showed that those two admirable properties of metals were somehow related: At any given temperature, the ratio of electronic conductivity to thermal conductivity was roughly the same in any metal they tested. This so-called Wiedemann-Franz law has held ever since – except in quantum materials, where electrons stop behaving as individual particles and glom together into a sort of electron soup. ...

Pickier dogs have pickier brains

Pickier dogs have pickier brains
2023-11-30
Dogs’ food preferences are mirrored in their brain activity, particularly within their caudate nuclei -a brain region associated with reward processing, a new study combining behavioural and neuroimaging data by researchers from the Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary) and Symrise Pet Food (France) finds. The study, which seamlessly blends behavioral observations with advanced neuroimaging techniques, offers novel insights into the influence of food quality on dogs' motivation. This work has been published in Scientific Reports. Similar to people, ...

Despite pressures facing young families, parents take precious moments to play with their babies

2023-11-30
Four in five primary caregivers of nine-month-old babies reported cuddling, talking and playing with their little one several times a day, in England's first national long-term study of babies in over two decades, led by UCL (University College London).  More than half engaged in physical or turn-taking play, singing, pretend games and noisy play with their babies several times a day – activities which were linked to improved early language development. Around three quarters showed their babies picture ...

Combined use of alcohol and THC can affect rat brains, study finds

Combined use of alcohol and THC can affect rat brains, study finds
2023-11-30
The increased legalization of cannabis over the past several years can potentially increase its co-use with alcohol. Concerningly, very few studies have looked at the effects of these two drugs when used in combination. In a series of new studies, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used rats to understand how brain structure and behavior can change when cannabis and alcohol are taken together. Most researchers have studied the effects of either alcohol or THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary psychoactive drug in cannabis, alone. However, when people, especially adolescents, use these drugs, ...

Tis the season to recognize chocolate: researchers highlight high quality cacao in Colombia

2023-11-30
Scientists are working to protect the unique qualities of cacao beans grown in the Buenaventura region on the Pacific coast of Colombia. In a study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, researchers from the Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (AGROSAVIA) have examined a wealth of metrics to uncover the complex interactions between environmental factors and cacao quality. In a pioneering move, they have proposed that Buenaventura should be designated as a new Denomination of Origin (DO) for cacao trees. This is a legal recognition given to products that originate ...

Straining memory leads to new computing possibilities

Straining memory leads to new computing possibilities
2023-11-30
By strategically straining materials that are as thin as a single layer of atoms, University of Rochester scientists have developed a new form of computing memory that is at once fast, dense, and low-power. The researchers outline their new hybrid resistive switches in a study published in Nature Electronics. Developed in the lab of Stephen M. Wu, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of physics, the approach marries the best qualities of two existing forms of resistive switches used for memory: memristors and phase-change materials. Both forms have been explored for their advantages over ...

Antarctica's ancient ice sheets foreshadow dynamic changes in Earth’s future

2023-11-30
MADISON – Nineteen million years ago, during a time known as the early Miocene, massive ice sheets in Antarctica rapidly and repeatedly grew and receded. The Miocene is widely considered a potential analog for Earth's climate in the coming century, should humanity remain on its current carbon emissions trajectory. Identifying how and why Antarctica's major ice sheets behaved the way they did in the early Miocene could help inform understanding of the sheets' behavior under a warming climate. Together, the ice sheets lock a volume of water equivalent to more than 50 meters of sea level rise and influence ocean currents that affect marine food webs and regional climates. ...

Modular chimeric cytokine receptors improve CAR T–cell therapy for solid tumors

Modular chimeric cytokine receptors improve CAR T–cell therapy for solid tumors
2023-11-30
(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – November 30, 2023) Immunotherapy using modified chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells has greatly improved survival rates for pediatric patients with relapsed and recurrent leukemia. However, these therapies are not as effective in treating solid tumors and can have significant toxicity. Findings from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital showed that adding a modular chimeric cytokine receptor to CAR T cells increased their efficacy in multiple solid tumor models. The study was published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering.   “We designed modular chimeric cytokine receptors and showed that ...

Climate: why disinformation is so persistent

2023-11-30
Melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, extreme heat waves: the consequences of climate change are more visible than ever, and the scientific community has confirmed that humans are responsible. Yet studies show that a third of the population still doubts or disputes these facts. The cause is disinformation spread by certain vested interests. To try and prevent this phenomenon, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has developed and tested six psychological interventions on nearly 7,000 participants from twelve countries. The research, published in ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)

A novel disturbance rejection optimal guidance method for enhancing precision landing performance of reusable rockets

New scan method unveils lung function secrets

Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas

Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model

Neuroscience leader reveals oxytocin's crucial role beyond the 'love hormone' label

Twelve questions to ask your doctor for better brain health in the new year

Microelectronics Science Research Centers to lead charge on next-generation designs and prototypes

Study identifies genetic cause for yellow nail syndrome

New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away

Good news for people with MS: COVID-19 infection not tied to worsening symptoms

Department of Energy announces $179 million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers

Human-related activities continue to threaten global climate and productivity

Public shows greater acceptance of RSV vaccine as vaccine hesitancy appears to have plateaued

Unraveling the power and influence of language

Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque precursor in mice

TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn's disease, recommended as first-line therapies

Twisted Edison: Bright, elliptically polarized incandescent light

Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription

Breaking boundaries: Researchers isolate quantum coherence in classical light systems

Brain map clarifies neuronal connectivity behind motor function

Researchers find compromised indoor air in homes following Marshall Fire

Months after Colorado's Marshall Fire, residents of surviving homes reported health symptoms, poor air quality

Identification of chemical constituents and blood-absorbed components of Shenqi Fuzheng extract based on UPLC-triple-TOF/MS technology

'Glass fences' hinder Japanese female faculty in international research, study finds

Vector winds forecast by numerical weather prediction models still in need of optimization

New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer’s disease

Trends in buprenorphine dispensing among adolescents and young adults in the US

Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility

Firearm and motor vehicle pediatric deaths— intersections of age, sex, race, and ethnicity

[Press-News.org] Structural racism persists in radiotherapy
An article in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences emphasizes the urgent need for new, more inclusive modern medical terminology and grading tools to help reduce racial bias in radiotherapy treatment and education