FDA approves breakthrough pancreatic cancer drug – an oncologist explains how daraxonrasib nearly doubles survival
Pancreatic cancer has been notoriously difficult to target and treat. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus ~~~~~ For a long time, the likelihood of surviving pancreatic cancer has been extremely low. For patients who were diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer between 2015 and 2021, about 97% died within five years of their diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer is so deadly in part because there are no effective screening tests, and it rarely causes noticeable symptoms in its earliest stages. By the time a patient experiences signs, such as jaundice – a yellowing of the skin – or abdominal pain, the cancer has often already spread to other organs. As a gastrointestinal oncologist and...
AI won’t replace radiologists, but will dramatically change their jobs
Ten years ago, a pioneering AI scientist predicted that computers would replace human experts as readers of medical images. It hasn’t exactly worked out that way. In 2016 Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel-winning “godfather of AI,” predicted that radiologists — the physicians who read X-rays, ultrasounds and other images to help make medical diagnoses — would find themselves replaced by computers within five years. Today the field can retort by quoting Mark Twain’s famous quip: The report of my death was an exaggeration. Radiology’s ranks are in fact growing steadily, with the number of practitioners expected to expand by 26 percent or more over the next three decades. But what Hinton may have...
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AI is transforming healthcare; but are your privacy policies keeping up?
Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a standard part of healthcare operations. From ambient AI documentation tools that generate clinical notes to voice-assisted transcription platforms and automated workflow solutions, healthcare organizations are increasingly adopting technologies designed to improve efficiency and allow providers to spend more time focused on patient care. As these tools become integrated into everyday practice, organizations should ensure their policies and compliance documentation evolve alongside the technology. AI implementation is not simply an IT decision—it also requires a thoughtful review of privacy practices, patient communications, vendor...
Anthony Fauci and the collapse of scientific authority
Anthony Fauci is now facing intense scrutiny. His diaries, emails, and testimony have raised fundamental questions about what he knew, what he told the public, and how he exercised authority during the pandemic. Many outside academia describe this as his fall from grace, while universities and medical institutions continue to celebrate him as a heroic public servant and scientific authority. That contradiction is the starting point for this essay. Fauci matters not only because of his individual conduct, but because he exposes the institutions that produced, empowered, and continue to protect him. The pandemic did not create the dysfunction inside biomedical science. It placed a magnifying...
