The secretary of Veteran Affairs (VA) has launched a competition under Section 105 of the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2011 to encourage widespread use of Blue Button personal health records (PHRs) to benefit veterans who receive care from non-VA providers.

Males are significantly more likely to die from most cancers than females, a risk that mirrors a higher incidence of cancer among men, according to a study published in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) delivers a clear survival improvement for patients suffering from early localized prostate cancer, benefiting intermediate-risk patients in particular while reducing mortality equally for whites and blacks, according to a study published July 14 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The rapid acquisition of images by skilled ultrasonagraphers who use pocket mobile echocardiography yields accurate assessments of ejection fraction, and some, but not all, cardiac structures in many patients, based on a cross-sectional, single-center study published July 4 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

A U.S. government-sponsored review of trials comparing radiotherapy with no treatment or other forms of radiotherapy has concluded that there is insufficient evidence that patients with localized prostate cancer will benefit from radiation therapy, according to a study published online June 6 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have relaxed standards for premerger notification, according to a July 7 release from the DoJ. In an effort to reduce burden and ensure effective rules, the filing form parties must submit when seeking antitrust clearance of proposed mergers and acquisitions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act was simplified.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed a framework for state-based affordable insurance exchanges, which will enable individuals and small employers to directly compare private health insurance options on the basis of price, quality and other factors.

After performing sequential CT scans within 15 minutes, interpretations by three radiologists revealed that one-third of lung tumor measurements varied by more than 2 mm, while 3 percent of tumors qualified as having progressed within the 15-minute interval, illuminating clinically important inaccuracies in measuring tumor size and progression on CT, opined the authors of a study published online July 5 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.