Mammography quality assurance programs are intended to help physicians get a sense of where their performance stands in relation to national benchmarks. A national survey of radiologists personal goals, however, showed that many radiologists have goals that fall outside of published desirable benchmarks, according to a study published in the March issue of Academic Radiology.

Previous studies have outlined gender and racial disparities within healthcare, including the low use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) as a primary prevention method in women and blacks. But a study published March 7 in Circulation showed that this gap may be narrowing after researchers found a significant increase in ICD therapy in all sex and racial groups. But while racial disparities were no longer present within ICD, sex differences still persisted.

The FDA has approved the importation of Endocyte's supply of Doxil from Europe into the U.S. for use in the PROCEED Phase III trial.

Robotic surgery conducted through patients mouths provides excellent results in removing squamous cell carcinoma at the back of the throat, with outcomes similar or superior to other surgical and nonsurgical treatments, especially in nonsmoking patients with human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a study published in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Cancer screening statistics that show benefit in improved survival rates and increased early detection are susceptible to lead-time and overdiagnosis biases, but most primary care physicians dont understand this crucial point. Few can correctly recognize that reduced mortality in a randomized trial is the best evidence of the benefit of screening, according to a study published in the March 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

A total of 202 bipartisan co-sponsors have demonstrated support for H.R. 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act, according to the American College of Radiology. H.R. 3269 would repeal the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-mandated payment reduction to the professional component of Medicare reimbursement for multiple diagnostic imaging services administered by the same physician, to the same patient, at the same session.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Forces (USPSTF) 2009 recommendation against routine breast cancer screening for women younger than age 50 continues to make waves. Recent research has shown that fewer women need undergo clinical screening to save a life than estimated by USPSTFs analysis, according to a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Multiparametric MR imaging parametersapparent diffusion coefficient and extravascular extracellular spacemay provide response-to-therapy markers for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, according to a study published in the March issue of Radiology.