In 2009, for the first time in 11 years, the volume of advanced imaging services for Medicare beneficiaries decreased, according to a new study released this week by the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC).

It decreased only a bit, just 0.1 percent. But the Medicare study contained lots more gloomy news. From 2008 to 2009:

The volume of overall (not just … read more »

American College of Radiology researchers say doctors who “self-refer” for imaging on equipment they own or lease should not receive Medicare reimbursement except for X-rays. According to the study, self-referral almost never shortens the duration of an illness and usually increases costs.

Supporters of self-referral—in which patients are sent for imaging on equipment controlled by the referring physician, and for which … read more »

The demand for radiation therapy for cancer patients will far outstrip the supply of radiation oncologists over the next decade, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

“Since research has shown that a delay between diagnosis and the start of radiation therapy can reduce its effectiveness, oncologists and radiologists must collaborate even more, so the quality … read more »

Now that recently idle Canadian and Dutch nuclear reactors are once again producing medical isotopes, the shortage is over. So everything’s okay, right?

Not exactly. Said Michael M. Graham, PhD, MD, in an interview with HealthImaging.com:
We have no domestic supply, and if we are relying on aging reactors around the world, then the isotope supply is precarious.
Dr. Graham, a professor at … read more »

More than 40 percent of pediatric oncology patients included in a new Canadian study exceeded the cumulative radiation dose threshold for risk of significant harm.

That startling statistic comes from a five-year retrospective study, published in the October issue of Pediatrics, of 150 children who were diagnosed with new malignancies in 2001. The sample consisted of five 30-patient subgroups, classified by … read more »

By 2020, the demand for radiologists could exceed supply by as much as 16 percent, according to a report by the physician-recruitment firm LocumTenens.com. It’s even possible, the report says, though “there are a lot of x-factors,” that we’ll see a job-growth boom like the one of 10 years ago.

“Retiring radiologists will exacerbate the problem,” the report says, “with 44 … read more »

Just as medical isotopes from the finally restarted nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, have begun trickling into the supply pipeline, doctors at a national symposium warned of the possible consequences of the current isotope shortage.

Before it was unexpectedly shut down in May 2009, the Chalk River plant had produced up to a third of the world’s medical isotopes—and half … read more »

A new drug protects mice from radiation damage to bone marrow, even if taken up to 20 hours after radiation exposure, according to the research team that developed it.

While some current drugs offer some protection from radiation toxicity if ingested in advance, this would be the first “radiomitigant,” able to mitigate bone-marrow damage even when taken after radiation exposure.

Norman Sharpless, … read more »

Tiny particles covered with melanin and injected into the body may protect bone marrow from damage during radiation therapy for cancer, judging from the results of experiments on mice.

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York described their research in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics.

Melanin, the pigment that gives skin and hair its color, … read more »

Part 2 of 2 on gene mutations and radiation:

Children with a mutated TP53 gene in a choroid plexus carcinoma (CPC) may be harmed by radiation treatments. The gene, also known as P53, is evident in other cancers besides CPC, which usually strikes very young children and counts as three to four percent of brain tumors in that age group.

 Physicians from Toronto’s Hospital for … read more »