Diplomat Special Section
In the August 2011 Issue
Promise of PARP
Enzyme Inhibitor Offers Exciting New Option in Ovarian Cancer Treatment
by Gina Shaw
Photo: Andy Nowack / iStock
Ovarian cancer is extremely difficult to diagnose and treat. Its symptoms are often confused with other, more benign conditions like gastrointestinal problems, and by the time the disease is recognized, seven or eight out of every 10 patients already have advanced-stage cancer where survival rates are low.
Last year, according to the National Cancer Institute, there were more than 21,000 estimated new cases of ovarian cancer in the United States and 13,850 deaths. Unfortunately, even when there is a good response to initial treatment, between 70 percent and 90 percent of women with ovarian cancer eventually have a recurrence of their disease. "Ovarian cancer is often a chronic disease," said Dr. Barbara Goff, director of gynecologic oncology at the University of Washington and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. "So we need to find agents that keep the disease from growing, and at the same time are relatively nontoxic."
Out of This World
Space-Pioneered Ultrasound Technology Sparks Terrestrial Health Care Advances
by Carolyn Cosmos
Photo: NASA
While the end of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program that carried astronauts into orbit is mourned, or perhaps applauded by some, its demise may be greatly exaggerated. Not only does NASA have its eye on deep-space missions to places like Mars, private companies, largely funded by the space agency, will still propel astronauts into Earth's orbit. But perhaps one of the most indelible imprints the program has left on mankind is the science developed aboard shuttle flights and the International Space Station — which may be transforming the lives of people back on Earth.
In fact, as the Atlantis space shuttle lifted off from Florida's coast on July 8, a remarkable scenario was unfolding along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua in a region called Tola. Two days after the launch, an international team descended on the rural town of Las Salinas to deliver a health care technology that had its genesis on the International Space Station.
In the May 2011 Issue
RoboDoc
Meet the Machine Who May Be Performing Your Next Surgery
by Carolyn Cosmos
Photo: Boulder Community Hospital
Dr. Christopher Pohlman, a physician at Boulder Community Hospital in Colorado, specializes in minimally invasive surgery, operating through tiny openings in his patients. But those incisions aren't done with a traditional scalpel by hand. And Pohlman doesn't hover over the body when the cuts, exploration and surgical repair are done inside his patients.
Rather, his second-hand man — or in this case, machine — does the work while Pohlman guides the robotic "hands" from a high-tech console nearby. The hardest part of doing general surgery with a robot is positioning the patient, Pohlman told The Washington Diplomat. The robot's four long instrument-like arms stretching down from its towering body have to be placed just so. "It's like docking a space station."
Price Palpitations
Exorbitant Drug Costs May Price Out Patients
by Gina Shaw
Photo: BigStock
In January, an injectable form of the drug progesterone, a synthetic hormone used to prevent preterm labor in some 130,000 pregnant women every year, cost as little as $10 from your local pharmacy.
Just three months later, the same drug skyrocketed to $1,500 per dose — although after a public outcry, the price tag dropped to $690 per dose. That's still a 69-fold price increase. Why? Did the drug magically get better? Did manufacturers discover a brand new indication? Nope.
The Food and Drug Administration granted exclusive approval to KV Pharmaceutical to produce the drug under the brand name Makena, designating it an "orphan drug" with seven years of monopoly protection. The agency decided that because the drug is a sterile injectable drug, granting specific approval to a manufacturer under FDA guidelines would offer a greater assurance of safety.
