Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that its superDimension Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy (ENB™) system, the first technology of its kind, is included in the new American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines to aid in diagnosing and managing lung cancer.  The evidence-based clinical practice guidelines were released by the ACCP earlier this month.

The FDA approved radium Ra 223 dichloride (Xofigo Injection, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastatic disease.

Data examining the outcomes of cancer screening decision aids designed to help improve doctor-patient communication and educate patients about the pros and cons of timing, frequency and methods of breast, cervical, colon and prostate cancer screening are variable and sparse, according to a study published in the May/June issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Elekta (NSE: EKTAb) and Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) announced today that Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Toronto, Canada) will join their growing consortium to validate the clinical potential of MRI-guided radiation therapy.

Sometimes we collectively need a wake up call. Mine came three years ago when a friend and industry colleague, an imaging sales executive, tragically passed away months before turning 40, after a heroic fight against colon cancer. He was a great guy – he took excellent care of himself, he was fit, he always had a smile on his face, and he adored his wife and two young kids.

Black women with breast cancer took longer to start chemotherapy than white women, and were more likely to delay treatment for ≥90 days than white women, according to a study published online in the May issue of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. The authors cited communication between the patient and physician as a factor.

Low-dose chest CT delivered much greater sensitivity at lung cancer detection than chest x-ray, according to a study presented May 6 at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery meeting. Radiation exposure for the sub-mSv CT protocol was on par with chest x-ray.

Although I’m an avowed word person, I have to admit sometimes numbers, rather than words, best convey the story. This week definitely falls into that category.