Category Archives: MSK in the News

Selected by library staff

Clear Masks Improve Patient-Provider Communication

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Even before the pandemic, masks hampered communication for patients with hearing impairment. An experience MSK nurse Brianna DiTullio had with an immunocompromised patient in 2019 inspired her to research the use of clear masks. She recently shared her results at the Oncology Nursing Society’s Annual Conference. They were reported by Oncology Nursing News.

In her study, DiTullio first surveyed 6 patients with hearing impairment to establish a baseline for their speech perception. Staff members wore clear masks when meeting with the patients over two days, after which the patients took a follow-up survey. The results were notable: before the switch to clear masks, 67% of the patients reported often having difficulty understanding staff. After the intervention, this number decreased to 33% of the patients. Patients also reported an increase in trust levels of hospital staff.

DiTullio recommends that hospitals invest in clear masks to allow for communication with this significant patient population.

Unraveling the Complexities of Metastasis

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Dr. Adrienne Boire

Adrienne Boire, MD, PhD. Photo: Karsten Moran.

An April feature in The Scientist explores the current landscape of metastasis research.

Framing the story is the work of MSK’s Dr. Adrienne Boire. When she was a clinical and postdoctoral fellow at MSK, a young patient asked her why and how cancer metastasized to her spinal fluid.

The interaction changed the focus of Boire’s research. She now leads a lab at MSK where she and her collaborators are making inroads into understanding the biology of metastatic cells.

Learn more about the Boire Lab in this 2019 video.

Getting the COVID Vaccine? Here’s What You Should Know About Cancer Imaging

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Nurse leader Jeanine Gordon gives nurse Emma Devlin the COVID-19 vaccination.

Nurse leader Jeanine Gordon gives nurse Emma Devlin the COVID-19 vaccination. Photo: Richard DeWitt.

A small but significant number of people experience swollen lymph nodes as a side effect of receiving a COVID vaccine. This can look like a clinically significant finding on cancer imaging, including chest CTs, PET scans, mammography, and breast MRI. In response, radiologists from MSK and three other institutions recently published recommendations for cancer imaging and COVID vaccination.

As reported by Reuters and the Associated Press, the authors recommend scheduling routine cancer imaging screenings either before vaccination or six weeks after. But patients should not delay getting either the vaccine or clinically urgent imaging. Cancer patients should receive the vaccine in the arm opposite the active or suspected cancer. Medical staff should ask patients receiving imaging about their vaccine history, including the date of vaccination and the side of the body vaccinated. If enlarged lymph nodes appear on imaging, radiologists may request follow up images or, in a small number of cases, biopsy.  

Want to learn more about MSK’s COVID-related research? Visit Synapse, the Library’s database of MSK-authored publications, for a full list of COVID-related works.

 Want to know more about COVID vaccination? Visit MSK’s info page.