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FDG uptake of thymus measured by PET/CT is an effective indicator for the differentiation of mediastinal lymphoma from normal thymus in pediatric patients, according to a study published in Radiology. Heike E. Daldrup-Link, MD, of Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif., and colleagues wanted to evaluate the use of PET/CT in diagnosing malignant lymphomas, which are the most common pediatric malignant masses of the anterior and middle mediastinum. More than two-thirds of pediatric patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and half of pediatric patients with lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin lymphoma present with a mediastinal mass, according to the study’s background information. The researchers retrospectively reviewed 282 FDG-PET/ CT studies in 75 pediatric oncology patients, who were divided into four groups: 16 with anterior mediastinal lymphoma (group a), five with anterior mediastinal lymphoma with subsequent recurrence (group b), 16 with lymphoma outside the mediastinum (group c) and 38 with other malignant tumors outside the thymus (group d). The analysis included the measurement of maximum standardized uptake values of anterior mediastinal mass, thymus (SUVt), on PET images. Results of the study showed a mean prechemotherapy SUVt of 4.82 for group a, 8.45 for group b, 2.00 for group c and 2.09 for group d. Postchemotherapy SUVt for group b was 4.74 and thymic rebound was seen in 44 percent of patients at an average interval of 10 months from the end of chemotherapy.
Biocon , India’s top-listed biotechnology company, expects to generate larger licensing income from pharmaceuticals business, its Chairman and Managing Director said. The Bangalore-based drugmaker earlier said consolidated net profit fell 15.8 percent in December quarter, while revenue rose 3 percent. The sales growth in the fiscal third quarter ended December 31 was flat on lower licensing income.The company said, licensing fees and income dropped to 292 million rupees in October-December from 768 million rupees a year earlier. Biocon’s presence straddles four main therapeutic areas – Diabetology, Cardiology, Nephrology and Oncology – even as it plans to introduce two new divisions, Comprehensive Care, and Immunotherapy, this year.
PET can detect mediastinal lymphoma in children
Biocon sees larger licensing income from pharma
Corporate Updates
Wal-Mart plans ambitious expansion into medical care
Wal-Mart issued a statement saying its request for partners to provide primary care services was “overwritten and incorrect.” The firm is “not building a national, integrated low-cost primary health care platform,” according to the statement by Dr. John Agwunobi, a senior vice president for health and wellness at the retailer. The nation’s largest retailer is planning
to offer medical services ranging from the management of diabetes to HIV infections, NPR and Kaiser Health News have learned. In the same week in late October that Wal-Mart said it would stop offering health insurance benefits to new parttime employees, the retailer sent out a request for partners to help it “dramatically ... lower the cost of healthcare ... by becoming the largest provider of primary healthcare services in the nation.” The 14-page request, which you can read here, asks firms to spell out their expertise in a wide variety of areas, including managing and monitoring patients with chronic, costly health conditions. Partners are to be selected in January. Analysts said Wal-Mart is likely positioning itself to boost store traffic, possibly by expanding the number of its
in-store medical clinics and the services they offer. The move would also capitalize on growing demand for primary care in 2014, when the federal health law fully kicks in and millions more Americans are expected to have government or private health insurance. “We have a massive primary care problem that will be made worse by health reform,” says Ian Morrison, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based health-care consultant. “Anyone who has a plausible idea on how to solve this should be allowed to play.” In-store medical clinics, such as those offered by Wal-Mart and other retailers, could also be players in another effort in the health law: collaborations between doctors and hospitals to streamline care and lower costs. february / 2012 www.ehealthonline.org
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