Dermatology World February 2011 : Page 6
rounds continued news in brief Cms launches Physician Compare iN lATe DeCember 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Academy updates vitamin D position statement fOllOWiNg The reCeNT rePOrT on vita-min D by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Academy has revised its position statement to reflect the new findings. The IOM report, which aligns with the Academy’s viewpoint that vitamin D should be obtained from diet rather than ultraviolet (UV) exposure, concluded that a vitamin D level of 20 ng/ ml should be considered adequate. The report was based on a review of more than 1,000 studies, as well as expert testimony. Further, the report stated that the majority of the population receives adequate vitamin D, largely due to enriched foods. The Academy’s updated position state-ment reflects these findings, setting the ac-ceptable safe and healthy level of vitamin D at 20 ng/ml. This number assumes minimal sun exposure. Additionally, the statement notes that the long-term safety of levels above 50 ng/ml is unknown. The Academy continues to maintain that vitamin D should not be acquired via unprotected UV exposure due to the risk of developing skin cancer. The full position statement is available on the Academy’s website. -JOhN CArruThers Medicaid Services (CMS) made a major change to the Physician Directory tool on its website with the intro-duction of Physician Compare , a tool aimed at helping patients find Medicare-participating physicians in their communities. The site will eventually serve as a reposi-tory of physician quality rankings. The new functionality of the site expanded and updated the previous CMS Healthcare Provider Directory, filling in additional details for each health care professional featured. In addition to doctors of medicine and osteopathy, Physician Compare also profiles doctors of optometry, podiatric medicine, and chiropractic. The site lists the doctor’s contact information and address, specialty, degree and clinical training information, and foreign language profi-ciencies. In addition, the site will allow patients to see whether the physician’s practice reported data to CMS through the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), formerly PQRI. The American Academy of Dermatology Association has expressed concern about including PQRS information, noting that the program has not always accurately reflected physicians’ reporting status and may lead patients to draw the wrong conclusions about individual dermatologists. In late 2011, the second planned phase will add information about whether physicians chose to participate in electronic prescribing. Planned expansions for the site, as yet undated but required by law to have an implementation plan by 2013, include quality of care and patient experience information. PhYsiCiAN COmPAre www.medicare.gov/find-a-doctor -JOhN CArruThers Cancer institute research suggests possible melanoma treatment pathway reseArChers frOm The NATiONAl CANCer iNsTiTuTe (NCI) announced that they have discovered a pathway in mice that al-lows the development of UV-induced melanoma — and that blocking interferon-gamma along the pathway inhibits melanoma development. Their findings were published online in Nature on Jan. 19. The findings are the latest step in the NCI team’s decade-long progress in exploring melanoma in genetically engineered mice. By irradiating newborn mice with enough UVB to trigger sunburn in human skin, the team was able to observe increased melanocyte behavior, and to determine that this increase was related to the production of interferon gamma by macrophages attracted to the sunburn site. The team found similar interferon-producing macrophages in 70 percent of human melanoma samples. The results suggest that interferon-gamma, which has been thought to contribute to an innate defense system against cancer, under some circumstances may promote melanoma and incite tumor development. “We anticipate that this discovery may change how interferons are used in the clinic as anticancer agents,” said Glenn Merlino, Ph.D., of the NCI’s Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics; interferons are currently being studied as poten-tial therapies for melanoma. The results of this study offer the possibility that the inhibition of interferon-gamma imme-diately after sunburn might block the carcinogenic activation of melanocytes, making it a potentially effective preventive strategy against UV radiation-induced melanoma. “Our findings raise the possibility that targeting the interferon-gamma pathway may represent a novel, less toxic therapeutic alternative for effective treatment of malignant melanoma patients, who currently have poor cure rates,” Dr. Merlino said. More information about the research is available at www.cancer.gov/ newscenter/pressreleases/MelanomaPath. – riChArD NelsON 6 Dermatology WorlD // February 2011 www.aad.org
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