Chest X-rays don’t reduce lung cancer deaths

A major U.S. study shows that annual chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer do not reduce the risk of dying from the disease, even in smokers or former smokers. More than 150,000 older Americans were involved in the clinical trial, funded by the National Cancer Institute, with about 16,000 enrolled at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Results of the study will be published Nov. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

WUSTL research spotlighted at Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting, June 21-25

Smoking is more common among kids with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than those without the disorder, but the risk for smoking rises dramatically in those with the inattentive subtype of ADHD.Advances in medical imaging techniques are among the breakthroughs being presented by Washington University researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 50th Annual Meeting June 21-25 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. More than 3,600 specialists in the field of nuclear medicine are expected to attend the meeting, which focuses on current issues in nuclear medicine, including bioethics, terrorism using radioactive materials, and controversial topics in the future of PET. WUSTL-related news from the meeting includes research on a new MicroPet technique for improved imaging of small animals and a study suggesting that FDHT-PET scanning of androgen receptors (AR) is successful in imaging patients with prostate cancer. Washington University cancer imaging specialist Barry A. Siegel will receive the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s (SNM) 2003 Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Pioneer Award for his distinguished contributions to nuclear medicine.