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People with intellectual disability receive breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening at lower rates relative to the general population, although the reasons for this disparity are largely unknown. Research, both with the general population and specific to people with intellectual disability, has revealed that a family physician's recommendation for cancer screening or continuity of primary care may increase screening rates. We interviewed family physicians and family medicine trainees regarding their experiences recommending cancer screening to patients with intellectual disability. We concluded that the decision to recommend cancer screening is complex, and includes physicians weighing their clinical judgement as to the best provision of care for patients with a patient's eligibility for screening, while continuing to respect patients' autonomy. This patient-physician interaction occurs within the larger medical environment. Further research with experienced family physicians is warranted to better understand this complex phenomenon.

Primary care providers are the main point of contact with the healthcare system for individuals with intellectual disability, and they may have pre-existing attitudes towards this group that impacts care. We examined whether participants' gender, age, professional status and experience with individuals with intellectual disability were associated with attitudes by surveying 95 family physicians, family medicine trainees and advanced practice nursing students across a Canadian province. Younger participants were more likely to feel that those with intellectual disability are similar to themselves and that individuals with intellectual disability should be empowered to take control of their lives. Older participants were more likely to believe that individuals with intellectual disability are vulnerable. These findings suggest there may be a generational difference in attitudes, and educational interventions may be needed to ameliorate attitudes among older primary care providers to reduce the impact of pre-existing attitudes on the provision of care.

Abstract Background Gastric and esophageal cancers are among the most lethal human malignancies. Their epidemiology is geographically diverse. This study compares the survival of gastric and esophageal cancer patients among several ethnic groups including Chinese, South Asians, Iranians and Others in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Methods Data were obtained from the population-based BC Cancer Registry for patients diagnosed with invasive esophageal and gastric cancer between 1984 and 2006. The ethnicity of patients was estimated according to their names and categorized as Chinese, South Asian, Iranian or Other. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of ethnicity adjusted for patient sex and age, disease histology, tumor location, disease stage and treatment. Results The survival of gastric cancer patients was significantly different among ethnic groups. Chinese patients showed better survival compared to others in univariate and multivariate analysis. The survival of esophageal cancer patients was significantly different among ethnic groups when the data was analyzed by a univariate test (p = 0.029), but not in the Cox multivariate model adjusted for other patient and prognostic factors. Conclusions Ethnicity may represent underlying genetic factors. Such factors could influence host-tumor interactions by altering the tumor's etiology and therefore its chance of spreading. Alternatively, genetic factors may determine response to treatments. Finally, ethnicity may represent non-genetic factors that affect survival. Differences in survival by ethnicity support the importance of ethnicity as a prognostic factor, and may provide clues for the future identification of genetic or lifestyle factors that underlie these observations.

Abstract Background Racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, survival and mortality are well documented; but few studies have reported on disparities in breast cancer treatment. This paper compares the treatment received by breast cancer patients in British Columbia (BC) for three ethnic groups and three time periods. Values for breast cancer treatments received in the BC general population are provided for reference. Methods Information on patients, tumour characteristics and treatment was obtained from BC Cancer Registry (BCCR) and BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) records. Treatment among ethnic groups was analyzed by stage at diagnosis and time period at diagnosis. Differences among the three ethnic groups were tested using chi-square tests, Fisher exact tests and a multivariate logistic model. Results There was no significant difference in overall surgery use for stage I and II disease between the ethnic groups, however there were significant differences when surgery with and without radiation were considered separately. These differences did not change significantly with time. Treatment with chemotherapy and hormone therapy did not differ among the minority groups. Conclusion The description of treatment differences is the first step to guiding interventions that reduce ethnic disparities. Specific studies need to examine reasons for the observed differences and the influence of culture and beliefs.

Oral cancer screening should be an integral part of a clinician's routine. This article reviews facts about oral cancer that are relevant to screening. The relevance of some issues in a particular dental practice will vary with the patient composition of the practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents two focus group discussions that promotes dialogue among community dental professionals about their oral cancer screening experiences. The groups are comprised with 12 dental professionals from the Greater Vancouver area. The views of the dental professionals about using the oral cancer screening in their practice and their concerns and solutions about the topic are also presented.

The article presents the author's response to an article about Visually Enhanced Lesion Scope (VELscope) that claims to enhance a clinician's ability to detect oral cancer. He notes that the interpretation of the findings of VELscope can be challenging. He concludes that fluorescence visualization (FV) has the potential to be an adjunctive screening tool that facilitates discrimination of soft tissue changes requiring follow-up.

Survival data for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is typically reported from clinical trials or institutional series that include patients fit enough to meet treatment criteria. The denominator of all SCLC patients from which the treated population is derived is rarely reported and the impact of new treatment strategies on population-based outcomes is difficult to measure. The British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) is a single centralized agency that coordinates cancer treatment services in the province and develops and circulates province-wide treatment guidelines. All SCLC cases diagnosed in BC in 1990 and 1995 (n=331 and 297, respectively) were identified. These 2 years were chosen specifically to examine the impact of a change in practice guidelines from consolidative to early concurrent thoracic radiation (RT) for patients with limited stage disease. Demographic, staging, treatment, and outcome details were obtained for 100% of cases. A total of 628 patients were reviewed, 207 with limited stage disease (LSCLC) and 407 with extensive stage disease (ESCLC); 14 cases diagnosed at post-mortem were excluded. Of the 207 patients with LSCLC disease, 170 (82%) received chemotherapy, and 138 (81%) of those that received chemotherapy also received thoracic radiation. A similar proportion (73 and 70%) of LSCLC patients received thoracic RT in both years but more patients in 1995 received early concurrent versus consolidative thoracic RT compared to those treated in 1990 (64% versus 17%, respectively, P=0.001). Of the 407 patients with ESCLC, 71% received chemotherapy. The median overall survival for all patients was 7 months. Patients with LSCLC who received any chemotherapy had a median survival of 14.3 months (26.9 and 9.9% for 2- and 5-year survival, respectively). Patients with LSCLC who received chemotherapy plus thoracic RT had a median survival of 15.1 months (32 and 12% for 2- and 5-year survival, respectively). Early concurrent thoracic RT in LSCLC was associated with an improved 5-year survival from 9.6 to 16.3% (P=0.91). Patients with ESCLC who received any chemotherapy had a median survival of 8.4 months (7.3 and 2.3% for 2- and 5-year survival, respectively). Standard treatment guidelines generated population-based survival outcomes that are similar to published clinical trials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Oral cancer screening should be an integral part of a clinician's routine. This article reviews facts about oral cancer that are relevant to screening. The relevance of some issues in a particular dental practice will vary with the patient composition of the practice.