Findings show minimally-invasive surgery offers benefits

The benefits of minimally-invasive treatment of uterine cancer is the subject of a study co-authored by Dr. Joan Walker, a gynecologic oncologist with the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center, and published in this month’s Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center enrolled a substantial number of the patients in this important clinical trial funded by the National Cancer Institute.  

The study evaluated the long-term effectiveness of both laparoscopy and laparotomy in the treatment of uterine cancer. Laparoscopy is a surgical technique that allows a surgeon to operate through small incisions as opposed to the larger incisions required for laparotomy or open surgery.

Uterine cancer affects more than 47,000 women and claims the lives of about 8,000 women in the United States each year.

Research previously had shown clear advantages for uterine cancer patients who undergo laparoscopy versus laparotomy for the removal and staging of their cancer.

“We knew there were benefits of minimally invasive surgery to the patient in terms of less time in the hospital and a faster recovery, but we did not yet know if the long-term outcomes would be as good in terms of recurrence of the cancer and survival.  That is where this study comes in,” Walker said.

Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Phase 1 Ceremony 2/16/12

Doctors are seeing a significant increase in the number of children suffering kidney stones.

While pediatric urologists don’t yet know the reason for the increase, there are things parents can do to help protect their children and themselves.

"We have definitely seen an increase in the number of children diagnosed with kidney stones,” said Blake Palmer, M.D., a pediatric urologist with OU Children’s Physicians. “Pediatricians are doing a great job of identifying these children now and referring them for treatment, which may account for some of the increase. However, better diagnosis alone cannot explain the overall increase in kidney stones in children."

Texas researchers found that kidney stone frequency, or urolithiasis, increased by about 12 percent a year during an eight-year period that ended in 2007. The findings were presented at a recent meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"There are factors that increase the risk of developing kidney stones,” Palmer said. “Diets that are high in oxalate, animal protein and sodium can increase your risk of developing some types of kidney stones.  Not consuming enough fluids, especially water, can also put you at risk."

OUHSC Neurologist Says Form of Childhood Epilepsy is Very Hard to Treat

NOV. 10, 2011–Imagine sending your child out the door each day knowing he or she was vulnerable to attack. Epilepsy is that constant danger for many families, but the attack comes from within the body in form of seizures that can cause injury or death.

A new drug is offering hope to families with the most severe type of childhood epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved clobazam after research showed it reduced the number of seizures. Clinical trials were led by Dr. Yu-Tze Ng, a pediatric neurologist with OU Children’s Physicians and the Presbyterian Health Foundation Chair of Child Neurology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

The recent phase III clinical trial, involving more than 200 pediatric and adult patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome at 51 health centers in the United States, India, Europe and Australia, found the drug reduced seizures in 70 percent of patients taking a dosage of 1 mg per day. Lower doses also saw reduced seizures but to a lesser degree.

OU clinical trial to evaluate investigational drug for Fragile X

OCTOBER 26, 2011 – The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is enrolling patients ages 5 to 25 in a clinical trial of an investigational drug that could treat social withdrawal and agitation in patients with Fragile X.

Fragile X is an inherited disorder that impacts mental development. It is the most common form of inherited mental impairment in males and a significant cause of mental impairment in females. It is also linked to autism in some children.

Thomas Lock, M.D., a professor in the OU College of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, is principal investigator for the new phase III clinical trial. It will evaluate the investigational drug STX209.

Lock said the drug works by adjusting transmitter levels needed for signaling between brain cells. In people with Fragile X, production of these transmitters may be too high or too low.

“There are signaling pathways in the brain that use glutamate. The problem is that if those pathways are overused they can get damaged,” he said.

What Really is the Best Protection Against Cervical Cancer?

Oct. 19, 2011 – Dr. Gretchen Wienecke has always known the importance of a yearly Pap test, which screens for some types of cervical cancer. Unfortunately, that test alone didn’t detect early her cancer in its early stages. She was diagnosed with the disease last year and underwent a robotic hysterectomy. 

Wienecke says the outcome might have been different if she’d had an additional screening test each year, one that tests for HPV, or human papillomavirus.

“I was always religious about going in every year for screening,” said Wienecke, who is a pain management physician at OU Medical Center. “If I had had that HPV screening the year before, that may have caught it early.”

Wienecke’s surgeon was Dr. Joan Walker, a gynecologic oncologist with the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center.

Walker hopes recommendations by the U.S. Preventative Task Force won’t lead to fewer screening choices for women like Wienecke.

The U.S. Preventive Task Force just renewed its recommendation for the Pap test as the best screening tool for cervical cancer and against the routine use of HPV testing, indicating there is not yet sufficient evidence to warrant it. The task force found that while HPV testing is more sensitive, it is less specific, which can result in more false positives.

The recommendation is at odds with those of other organizations, including the American Cancer Society and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists. Because many young women have HPV and some forms can lead to cervical cancer, these groups recommend HPV testing along with the Pap test as important screening tools for cervical cancer in women over 30.