Bladder cancer is more aggressive and more advanced in South Texas residents than in many parts of the country, a study by the Mays Cancer Center indicates. The disease is also deadlier in Latinos and women, regardless of where they live nationwide, according to the research. The team from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), which includes the…, Worse survival rates, “Although South Texas and Texas had lower bladder cancer incidence rates than SEER, the region and state had significantly worse five-year survival rates for bladder cancer compared to SEER. This was regardless of gender,” said study first and corresponding author Shenghui Wu, MD, PhD, MPH , assistant professor of population health sciences at UT Health San Antonio. “We also found that Latinos…, Unique differences that need to be studied, UT Health San Antonio urologist Robert Svatek, MD , a study coauthor, said the findings reveal the complex variations among diverse groups in their responses to cancer. The Texas population, which is 40% Latino, “is uniquely different than the rest of the United States in the biology of bladder cancer,” Dr. Svatek said. “It means we really need to understand what is going on locally and study…, Knowledge a step toward improving survival, Study findings will have relevance to health care services planning, Dr. Wu noted. “Hopefully our research will help communities by first determining the high-risk populations and then understanding the ways to improve bladder cancer survival and quality of life and decrease mortality rates,” she said. The research was published in December in the journal Bladder Cancer . Dr. Svatek, professor…
UT Health Physicians has the best doctors in San Antonio, according to Scene In S.A., the city’s premier magazine. With specialties ranging from pediatrics to plastic surgery, UT Health Physicians represented a third of the best doctors on this year’s list. The Best Doctors list is curated using voting submissions from thousands of Bexar County physicians, surgeons and dentists who select which…
With the COVID-19 vaccine now beginning to circulate throughout the community, questions remain regarding best safety precautions and practices for vaccinated individuals. While the Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective for preventing illness, the possibility of transmission is still not fully understood. “The vaccine’s efficacy is very high, so if you received the vaccine, you’re in pretty good shape…, Other frequently asked questions:, Q: Is it safe to gather for shared meals and socialize freely with members of different households if we know we’ve all been vaccinated?, A: This is a difficult question and hard to answer until we know more about how the vaccines work. If you have been vaccinated then it’s unlikely that you could get sick at a gathering like this. But you still might be able to catch the virus and then later spread it to someone else, even though you do not get sick or have symptoms., Q:, , Can my unvaccinated children hug their vaccinated grandparents now?, A: The vaccinated grandparents would be largely protected. But it might be possible for them to pick up the virus and pass it to their grandchildren or someone else, even though the vaccine keeps them from getting sick., Q: When can we stop wearing masks?, A: Because we don’t know if the vaccines stop people from spreading the virus, we need to keep wearing masks until most people have been vaccinated and the spread of COVID-19 is low in the community.
By: Will Sansom The , Mays Cancer Center, , home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson, is teaming up with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (, NCCN, ®), the American Cancer Society (, ACS, ) and other leading cancer organizations across the country to endorse the resumption of cancer screening and treatment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition of 76 organizations has released an open , letter, reminding the public that cancer still poses a major threat to people’s health, and acting as soon as is safely possible can lead to much better outcomes in the future. The letter examines distressing trends showing a significant drop-off in recommended cancer screening and treatment compared to prior years. This concerning side-effect of the pandemic could lead to a staggering number of…, Ruben Mesa, MD, FACP, executive director of the Mays Cancer Center, . “Today it is threatening our lives and the lives of those we love. Catching cancer in its earliest stages can make it easier to treat, which is why it’s so important to get your cancer screenings. The Mays Cancer Center joins the NCCN and the ACS in calling for all South Texans to get their mammograms, colonoscopies, prostate, cervical and lung cancer screenings and to not ignore the warning…, evidence-based precautions, against COVID-19 should provide reassurance against fears of infection during necessary medical care. The letter points out that researchers around the world have made tremendous strides in controlling cancer in recent years. Leading oncology experts are now asking everyone, in coordination with their health care provider, to resume preventive and prescribed care and contact their doctor right…, NCCN.org/resume-screening, to read the entire letter. For general guidance and information about cancer, visit , NCCN.org, or , Cancer.org, .
"Get the vaccine," urges Dr. Jason Bowling, an infectious disease specialist at UT Health San Antonio. Learn more about the new COVID-19 strain, known as the UK variant, and what you can do to protect yourself and those you love. Watch the KENS 5 interview here.
With February being American Heart Month, Dr. Dawn Hui, a cardiothoracic surgeon with UT Health San Antonio, was interviewed by KSAT 12 to spread awareness on the warning signs of heart disease, how to help prevent it and the American Heart Association’s Don’t Die of Doubt campaign. Read and watch the story.
By: Joe Feist If you received your second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and experienced a sore arm and perhaps some fever, well, good for you. “That’s typically a good sign,” said Fred Campbell, MD, an internal medicine physician and associate professor of medicine at UT Health San Antonio. “In general, a good local reaction is consistent with the body’s defense against…
By: Will Sansom Getting COVID-19 vaccines into arms and continuing to mask and social distance is essential as cases associated with U.K., South Africa and Brazil coronavirus variants crop up in the U.S., infectious disease specialists from UT Health San Antonio said Wednesday. News that vaccine efficacy is reduced against the variant strains must not deter the public from being vaccinated when…, Jason Bowling, MD,, infectious diseases specialist at UT Health San Antonio and attending physician at University Hospital. “I hope that, especially with the waits for vaccines, the public will not get discouraged by the news about the variants.” “A vaccine that is highly effective against variants in the U.S. and U.K. and is more than 50% effective against other variants still provides protection,” said , Barbara Taylor, MD,, principal investigator of the COVID-19 Prevention Network site at UT Health San Antonio and University Health. “Most of the vaccine makers have already started generating new vaccine candidates that can serve as a booster to existing vaccines,” Dr. Taylor said. The news about variants also emphasizes the need to continue with public health interventions such as avoiding large gatherings (…
In a new paper, researchers from UT Health San Antonio report brain chemistry that may contribute to why drinkers have difficulty paying attention while under the influence. The work is funded by generous support from the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation and by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute of Mental Health.…, Martin Paukert, MD, , assistant professor of cellular and integrative physiology at UT Health San Antonio. When attention is needed for a task, norepinephrine is secreted by a brain structure called the locus coeruleus. Scientists previously did not understand well what happens next, but Dr. Paukert and the team showed that the norepinephrine attaches to receptors on cells called Bergmann glia. This leads to a…, Ethanol abolishes vigilance-dependent astroglia network activation in mice by inhibiting norepinephrine release, Liang Ye, Murat Orynbayev, Xiangyu Zhu, Eunice Y. Lim, Ram R. Dereddi, Amit Agarwal, Dwight E. Bergles, Manzoor A. Bhat and Martin Paukert First published: Dec. 2, 2020, Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19475-5
Dr. Robert Leverence, chief medical officer for UT Health Physicians, is in this KENS 5 story about the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in San Antonio and what can be expected as additional doses become available. Read and watch the story.