RESEARCH ALERT: Melanoma overdiagnosis soars among white Americans, study finds

About 83,000 patients overdiagnosed in 2018 alone, say researchers

2024-01-22

(Press-News.org) AUSTIN, Texas — More than half of all melanoma diagnoses among white Americans may be overdiagnosed, according to a new study led by a researcher at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.

“Cases of cutaneous melanoma have risen significantly in the U.S. over the last 40 years, without an equivalent rise in mortality— which points to overdiagnosis,” said Ade Adamson, M.D., M.P.P., lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Dell Med. “Overdiagnosis happens when a melanoma is diagnosed that is actually harmless. That means the patient may undergo expensive, unnecessary treatments that may do far more harm than good.”

The research, published today in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, found that an estimated 49.7% of melanomas diagnosed in white men and 64.6% in white women were overdiagnosed in 2018—a total of about 83,000 cases. Using national data from 1975 to 2018, researchers also found that the lifetime risk of being overdiagnosed with melanoma increased over the years.

A large proportion of overdiagnosed melanomas are in the earliest stage (Stage 0 – also known as melanoma in situ). The authors estimate that 89% of melanoma in situ are overdiagnosed in white men and 85% in white women in the US.

“This study shouldn’t dissuade people from getting concerning moles evaluated for melanoma, especially if you are high risk,” said Adamson. “However, my hope is that it informs how people receive a melanoma diagnosis and brings awareness to the phenomenon of overdiagnosis an unintended consequence of screening.”

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Older adults spend 3 weeks each year receiving health care outside of the home

2024-01-22

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 22 January 2024  Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet   @Annalsofim Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent. ---------------------------- 1. Older adults spend 3 weeks each year receiving ...

EHR workload continues to grow for primary care physicians

2024-01-22

The study evaluated recent trends in primary care physicians’ (PCPs) electronic health record (EHR) workload. Prior to and early in the COVID-19 pandemic, PCPs spent more time in the EHR and received more messages than physicians in other specialties, but it is unclear if the pandemic further accelerated the growth of PCPs’ EHR workload. Researchers observed EHR usage of 141 academic PCPs practicing family medicine, internal medicine, and general pediatrics within the University of Wisconsin-Madison health system, which cares for nearly 300,000 primary care patients per year. This longitudinal study compared the amount of time participating ...

Clear and open communication with care teams could improve the birthing experience for Black people

2024-01-22

This study explored the perspectives of Black birthing people on how better communication with care teams may have improved their birth experiences. Researchers interviewed 30 non-Hispanic Black, English-language–proficient, low-income birthing people in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, all of whom were insured by Medicaid. All gave birth to preterm infants before 34 weeks gestation, or before 36 weeks gestation to birthing people with a modifiable risk factor such as high blood pressure. The interviews uncovered three main themes regarding the quality of communication with their care teams and the effect on their experiences: ...

A simple three-question screening tool may help to identify precarious employment among primary care patients

2024-01-22

Precarious employment, defined by temporary contracts, unstable employment, or job insecurity, is increasingly common and is associated with inconsistent access to health insurance, lower incomes, and greater exposure to physical hazards and psychological stress. A team of researchers in Toronto, Canada, created and tested a new three-question screening tool to help primary care clinics identify these patients. The screener included the following three questions: 1) non-standard employment (Are you currently employed in a casual, short-term, or temporary position?); 2) violations of occupational health ...

Primary care physicians and urologists work together to provide optimal care for men with low-risk prostate cancer

2024-01-22

This study considers the perspectives of primary care physicians (PCPs) and urologists on what facilitates and what creates barriers to active surveillance (AS) care for men with low-risk prostate cancer. Researchers conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 19 PCPs (9 female, 4 in community practices, 15 in academic medical centers) and 15 urologists (3 female, 5 in private practice, 3 in academic medical centers) between June 2020 and March 2021. Their goal was to assess interviewees’ knowledge of AS, what factors they felt influence adherence to follow-up ...

Patients who obtained telemedicine medication abortions (TeleMAB) through primary care have positive feelings about their experience

2024-01-22

This study explores patients’ experiences and perspectives on obtaining telemedicine medication abortions (TeleMAB) through their primary care health system. Researchers conducted in-depth phone interviews with 14 English, Spanish, and/or Portuguese-speaking patients, ranging in age from 26 to 42, who received a TeleMAB between July 2020 and December 2021 from a large primary care safety-net community health system in Massachusetts. Thirteen of the interviewees provided demographic information. All 13 identified as female, and 10 had children ...

An update on a 2015 report shows that gabapentinoid usage in the U.S. has continued to climb

2024-01-22

Gabapentinoids are commonly prescribed for an array of off-label conditions, including management of chronic pain. Updating their 2015 report on gabapentinoid usage in the U.S., researchers used the 2002–2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to investigate the proportion of the adult population using gabapentinoids, medications, and diagnoses associated with users, and the likelihood of starting, stopping, or continuing gabapentinoids. They found that gabapentinoid use has increased from 4.0% in 2015 to 4.7% in 2021. ...

The serious risks and high costs of monoclonal antibodies may outweigh the benefits for patients with Alzheimer dementia

2024-01-22

Researchers performed a meta-analysis of randomized trial studies that compared the use of amyloid-reducing monoclonal antibodies (MABs) in patients with Alzheimer dementia at a dose consistent with that used in Phase 3 or FDA approval trials with the use of a placebo. Their purpose was to evaluate clinically meaningful benefits and harms of MABs to these patients. For inclusion in this meta-analysis, the RCT studies had to include adult participants with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer disease of any severity and report at least one clinically relevant benefit or harm to participants after at least one year. The research team identified 19 such publications that evaluated ...

Annals of Family Medicine January/February 2024 Tip Sheet

2024-01-22

EHR Workload Continues to Grow for Primary Care Physicians The study evaluated recent trends in primary care physicians’ (PCPs) electronic health record (EHR) workload. Prior to and early in the COVID-19 pandemic, PCPs spent more time in the EHR and received more messages than physicians in other specialties, but it is unclear if the pandemic further accelerated the growth of PCPs’ EHR workload. Researchers observed EHR usage of 141 academic PCPs practicing family medicine, internal medicine, and general pediatrics within the University of Wisconsin-Madison health system, which ...

A quality improvement intervention links high-risk prenatal patients at safety-net health centers with primary care

2024-01-22

Researchers assessed the development and implementation of a quality improvement learning collaborative’s (QILC) intervention to link high-risk prenatal patients with primary care. The aims of the study were twofold: to identify any quantitative impact of the intervention on postpartum and primary care utilization for high-risk prenatal patients and to explore the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) participants’ experiences of working with a QI collaborative. Using information from patients’ charts and/or ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Unexpected human behaviour revealed in prisoner's dilemma study: Choosing cooperation even after defection

Distant relatedness in biobanks harnessed to identify undiagnosed genetic disease

UCLA at ASTRO: Predicting response to chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer, 2-year outcomes of MRI-guided radiotherapy for prostate cancer, impact of symptom self-reporting during chemoradiation and mor