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Debbie Saslow

Publications and source records attributed to Debbie Saslow.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

A review of effective strategies for native women's breast health outreach and education.

BACKGROUND: This commentary provides a summary of a pilot study designed to assist the American Cancer Society in revising the Circle of Life breast health program for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs). METHODS: Included are analyses of a literature review focusing on breast health outreach strategies among AIANs and in-depth interviews with breast health focus group facilitators. Over 70 AIAN breast or cervix cancer screening articles were reviewed, and approximately 20 focus group facilitators were interviewed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A primary finding was that AIAN breast cancer outreach, education, and screening programs are most effective when community-driven and culturally relevant to local tribal nations and geographic regions.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Interim guidance for the use of human papillomavirus DNA testing as an adjunct to cervical cytology for screening.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an adjunct to cytology for cervical cancer screening. To help provide guidance to clinicians and patients when using HPV DNA testing as an adjunct to cervical cytology for screening, a workshop was cosponsored by the National Institutes of Health-National Cancer Institute, American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), and American Cancer Society. Consensus was reached based on a literature review, expert opinion, and unpublished results from large ongoing screening studies. The conclusions of the workshop were that HPV DNA testing may be added to cervical cytology for screening in women aged 30 years or more. Women whose results are negative by both HPV DNA testing and cytology should not be rescreened before 3 years. Women whose results are negative by cytology, but are high-risk HPV DNA positive, are at a relatively low risk of having high-grade cervical neoplasia, and colposcopy should not be performed routinely in this setting. Instead, HPV DNA testing along with cervical cytology should be repeated in these women at 6 to 12 months. If test results of either are abnormal, colposcopy should then be performed. This guidance should assist clinicians in utilizing HPV DNA testing in an effective manner, while minimizing unnecessary evaluations and treatments.

Adult↗

American cancer society guideline for the early detection of cervical neoplasia and cancer.

An update to the American Cancer Society (ACS) guideline regarding screening for the early detection of cervical neoplasia and cancer, based on recommendations from a formal review and recent workshop, is presented. The new screening recommendations address when to begin screening, when screening may be discontinued, whether to screen women who have had a hysterectomy, appropriate screening intervals, and new screening technologies, including liquid-based cytology and HPV DNA testing.

Journal Article↗

The epidemiology of cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common neoplastic diseases affecting women, with a combined worldwide incidence of almost half a million new cases annually, second only to breast cancer. Basic and epidemiologic research conducted during the past 15-20 years have provided overwhelming evidence for an etiologic role for infection with certain types of sexually-transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) as the primary cause of cervical cancer. The relative risks of cervical cancer following HPV infection as ascertained in case-control and cohort studies are among the highest in cancer epidemiology. The available evidence indicates that the HPV-cervical cancer association satisfies all relevant causal criteria for public health action. Other cervical cancer risk factors, such as smoking, parity, use of oral contraceptives, diet, other infections, and host susceptibility traits must be understood in the context of mediation of acquisition of HPV infection or in influencing events of the natural history of cervical neoplasia that occur following the establishment of a persistent HPV infection. Virtually all cervical carcinoma specimens contain HPV DNA, which suggests that HPV infection is a necessary cause of cervical neoplasia. This is the first instance in which a necessary cause has been demonstrated in cancer epidemiology--a realization that has obvious implications for primary and secondary prevention of this neoplastic disease.

Female↗

American Cancer Society guidelines for the early detection of cancer.

Each year the American Cancer Society publishes a summary of existing recommendations for early cancer detection, including updates, and/or emerging issues that are relevant to screening for cancer. In last year's article, the guidelines regarding screening for the early detection of prostate, colorectal, and endometrial cancers were updated, as was the narrative pertaining to testing for early lung cancer detection. Although none of the ACS's guidelines were updated in 2001, work is proceeding on an update of screening recommendations for breast and cervical cancer and an update of these guidelines will be announced in the January/February 2003 issue of CA. As in previous issues, we review recommendations for the "cancer-related check-up," in which clinical encounters provide case-finding and health counseling opportunities. Finally, we provide an update of the most recent data pertaining to participation rates in cancer screening by age, gender, and ethnicity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Breast Neoplasms↗

American Cancer Society guideline for the early detection of cervical neoplasia and cancer.

An update to the American Cancer Society (ACS) guideline regarding screening for the early detection of cervical neoplasia and cancer, based on recommendations from a formal review and recent workshop, is presented. The new screening recommendations address when to begin screening, when screening may be discontinued, whether to screen women who have had a hysterectomy, appropriate screening intervals, and new screening technologies, including liquid-based cytology and HPV DNA testing.

Adolescent↗

American Cancer Society guidelines for breast cancer screening: update 2003.

In 2003, the American Cancer Society updated its guidelines for early detection of breast cancer based on recommendations from a formal review of evidence and a recent workshop. The new screening recommendations address screening mammography, physical examination, screening older women and women with comorbid conditions, screening women at high risk, and new screening technologies.

Adult↗

Clinical breast examination: practical recommendations for optimizing performance and reporting.

Clinical breast examination (CBE) seeks to detect breast abnormalities or evaluate patient reports of symptoms to find palpable breast cancers at an earlier stage of progression. Treatment options for earlier-stage cancers are generally more numerous, include less toxic alternatives, and are usually more effective than treatments for later-stage cancers. For average-risk women aged 40 and younger, earlier detection of palpable tumors identified by CBE can lead to earlier therapy. After age 40, when mammography is recommended, CBE is regarded as an adjunct to mammography. Recent debate, however, has questioned the contributions of CBE to the detection of breast cancer in asymptomatic women and particularly to improved survival and reduced mortality rates. Clinicians remain widely divided about the level of evidence supporting CBE and their confidence in the examination. Yet, CBE is practiced extensively in the United States and continues to be recommended by many leading health organizations. It is in this context that this report provides a brief review of evidence for CBE's role in the earlier detection of breast cancer, highlights current practice issues, and presents recommendations that, when implemented, could contribute to greater standardization of the practice and reporting of CBE. These recommendations may also lead to improved evidence of the nature and extent of CBE's contribution to the earlier detection of breast cancer.

Breast Diseases↗

Performance and reporting of clinical breast examination: a review of the literature.

Clinical breast examination (CBE) seeks to detect breast abnormalities or evaluate patient reports of symptoms to find palpable breast cancers at an earlier stage of progression, when treatment is more effective and treatment options are greater than for later stage disease. Evidence suggests that, for some women, CBE can be an important complement to mammography in the earlier detection of breast cancer; CBE identifies some cancers missed by mammography and provides an important screening tool among women for whom mammography is not recommended or women who do not receive high-quality screening mammography according to recommended guidelines. But CBE performance and reporting approaches are inconsistent. Health care providers indicate that they are not confident in their CBE skills and would welcome training. Studies demonstrate that training can enhance CBE performance, measured in terms of execution of CBE components and accuracy. This literature review provides evidence to the extent that it is available, to support the specific recommendations of Saslow, et al. for optimizing CBE performance and reporting and to guide further research on CBE performance characteristics, reporting systems, barriers to high-quality CBE performance, and training.

Breast Neoplasms↗