Hundreds of Thousands of Cervical Cancer Cases Could

Hundreds of Thousands of Cervical Cancer Cases Could Be Prevented with HPV Vaccines and Pap Smear Tests

CCF Dr Robert DeBernardo

Hundreds of thousands of cervical cancer cases per year could be prevented through widespread vaccinations for human papillomavirus (HPV) and annual pap smear tests, says an expert at a top American hospital, Cleveland Clinic, marking Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in January.

Dr. Robert DeBernardo, Section Head of Gynecologic Oncology and Vice Chair Subspecialty Care for Women’s Health at Cleveland Clinic, said: “Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death for young women, but is also entirely preventable between widespread HPV vaccinations and early and frequent annual screenings with pap smear tests. HPV vaccines can protect both men and women from HPV infections; women from cervical cancer; and men from many types of head and neck cancer, too.”

Cancer of the cervix is the fourth-most common cancer among women worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. About 570,000 women are diagnosed with cervical canCERVICAL CANCER IS A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH OF YOUNG WOMEN, BUT CAN BE EASILY PREVENTED AND TREATED IF CAUGHT EARLY SAYS EXPERT FROM AMERICAN HOSPITAL CLEVELAND CLINIC.

cer every year, and 311,000 die from the disease annually.

The United States’ National Cancer Institute reports recent research found widespread HPV vaccinations reduced cervical cancer by 90 percent. It is estimated that 99 percent of cases of cervical cancer are caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV), frequently acquired through sexual contact, although only specific types of HPV are a risk factor for cervical cancer.

Dr. DeBernardo recommends that women should see a gynecologist annually from the age of 21 onwards and take pap smear tests when recommended by their gynecologist. Pap smear tests are simple tests involving swabbing from the cervix to collect cells, which are then analyzed for the presence of high-risk HPV types in cells and pre-cancer changes in the cervical cells. “Cervical cancer can develop slowly over many years, with pre-cancerous cells becoming cancerous, which is why screening is vital,” added Dr. DeBernardo. “The good news is that cervical cancer is very treatable, especially if it’s caught early on. In developing countries that may lack the testing infrastructure, there is strong potential for low-cost take-home pap smear tests. Women can take the tests at home, and if they test positive, can undergo follow-up

medical exams.”

In the initial stages, cervical cancer can be treated by surgical removal of the cancerous tissue or radiation therapy. Cleveland Clinic cites a five-year survival rate of more than 90 percent if it is caught in the earliest stage. Later-stage treatment options can include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Supporting treatment innovations, Cleveland Clinic has trialed new medical devices to treat pre-cancer lesions, including a non-gas cryotherapy machine to freeze the lesions, and one that uses heat, rather than cold, to remove the lesions. These devices can be especially useful in developing countries with limited access to hospital facilities and to the cryogenic gas to freeze lesions.

Nicklaus Children's Hospital Achieves Accreditation with Excellence from the Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program

Knowledge Bylanes -- Nicklaus Children's Hospital https://www.nicklaushealth.org/ home in Miami, Florida, has been awarded Accreditation with Excellence for a three-year term by the Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program (http://globalhealthcareaccreditation.com/) for its Medical Travel Services Program.

Founded in 1950, Nicklaus Children's Hospital is the first children's hospital to achieve GHA accreditation and is South Florida's only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children. The 309-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report, since 2008.

According to Dr. Andrea Maggioni, Director of Global Health at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, "It is a great honor for Nicklaus Children's Hospital to be formally recognized as the first pediatric program to meet the high standards of the Global Healthcare Accreditation Program. Our fundamental vision has always been "to be where the children are", we are very proud of the accomplishments of our Global Health team to meet and exceed the unique needs of our extended international patient families, as well as the medical travel partners that support them throughout the continuum of care. We sincerely thank GHA for providing the tools and quality framework needed to measure and improve the fulfilling work we do every day."

The Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program was established with the goal of enhancing the patient experience for medical THE ACCREDITATION SURVEY AT NICKLAUS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL WAS CONDUCTED REMOTELY DUE TO THE CURRENT COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE VIRTUAL ACCREDITATION PROCESS WAS DEVELOPED BY GHA TO FACILITATE SEAMLESS COMMUNICATION, OBSERVATION, AND DATA SHARING TO MAXIMIZE SURVEYOR-CLIENT INTERACTIONS AND ULTIMATELY PROVIDE ORGANIZATIONS WITH A SIMILAR LEVEL OF VALUE AS WOULD BE PROVIDED DURING AN ONSITE SURVEY.

travelers across the entire Medical Travel Care Continuum. GHA standards, accredited by ISQua (through the International Society for Quality in Health Care External Evaluation Association), provide concrete and measurable value to patients by ensuring that the hospital or clinic has instituted processes that are customized to the medical travelers' unique needs and expectations and are consistently monitored for improvement. Additionally, GHA provides healthcare organizations with a unique opportunity to not only acquire skills and competencies designed to strengthen their medical travel services, but also impact business performance.

The accreditation survey at Nicklaus Children's Hospital was conducted remotely due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual accreditation process was developed by GHA to facilitate seamless communication, observation, and data sharing to maximize surveyor-client interactions and ultimately provide organizations with a similar level of value as would be provided during an onsite survey.

Karen Timmons, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Healthcare Accreditation Program stated, "Traveling patients and payers are increasingly demanding a high-quality patient experience. GHA strives to assure that the patient is actively engaged and that the organization is proactive in managing cultural sensitivities and communication at each touch point along this medical travel care continuum. We congratulate Nicklaus Children's Hospital for achieving GHA Accreditation with Excellence and for its commitment to supporting the needs of medical travel patients, their parents and companions."

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers shed new light on mysteries behind the light emission of fireflies

Bioluminescence is an energy-conserving process of natural production of cold light that many lower organisms use for communication, capturing prey, or mating

Ateam of researchers from the NYU Abu Dhabi’s (NYUAD) Smart Materials Lab (SML) led by Professor of Chemistry Panče Naumov has conducted a thorough review of the scientific literature surrounding the natural production of light, called bioluminescence, and developed conclusions that will help others in the field direct their research to uncover the mysteries behind this fascinating natural phenomenon.

In the new study The Elusive Relationship Between Structure and Color Emission in Beetle Luciferases, which is featured on the cover of the journal Nature Reviews Chemistry, Naumov and colleagues provide the most comprehensive critical overview of the field of the bioluminescence of beetles, including fireflies, to date.

The NYUAD researchers, including the Naumov group’s post-doctoral associates César Carrasco-López and Stefan Schramm, and undergraduate student Nathan M. Lui, identify the intricate structural factors that govern what

Understanding the chemical reactions responsible for bioluminescence could lead to the development of new bioanalytical tools, such as those for early discovery of cancer & diagnostics of other diseases.

This wondrous phenomenon has long fascinated scientists and the public, but many details of the chemical reactions used to produce light remain unclear. For example, it remains uncertain why various beetle species can emit different colors of light, despite using very similar lightproducing enzymes.

color light is emitted by wild-type and mutant luciferases, the enzymes that generate light. They also demonstrate that it is possible to build a library of bioluminescent enzymes in the future, which will enable researchers to control the color and intensity of light emission by engineering luciferases at will.

“Learning from nature will provide us with tools to engineer luciferases that can emit colors within a large range of energies,” said Naumov. “This will eventually help us expand the range of application of these and similar enzymes for some exciting applications in biology and medicine, including early diagnosis and prevention of diseases.”

Throughout human’s history, bioluminescence has been an inspiration to scientists, artists, and laypersons. Glowing fungi or ostracods have been used by tribes and soldiers as lanterns to guide their way through jungles without the need of electricity, and fireflies were used by miners as safety lights. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 was awarded for the discovery of the green fluorescent protein, a bioluminescent protein found in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. Today, bioluminescence is the basis for a great number of bioanalytical methods, such as cell imaging, cancer research, and control of food contamination, and a way to efficiently convert the energy stored in chemical bonds into light that can be easily detected. For example, bioluminescence of some bioluminescent bacterial strains is used to monitor water toxicity and contamination. The fluorescent proteins are genetically inserted into cells and animals to analyze important aspects of dynamics of some diseases.

The latest research from the NYUAD’s Naumov team is poised to solve some of the mysteries surrounding the chemistry of bioluminescence and to bring this research closer to applications.