BALTIMORE -- A bit of pre-op prophylactic palaver after the patient is anesthetized is being advocated as a way to prevent wrong-site surgery.

SYDNEY, Australia -- After an initial low-trauma fracture from a simple fall, both older men and women are equally likely to have a subsequent significant fracture, researchers here reported.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Chemoradiation allows many patients with node-positive head-and-neck cancer to avoid additional surgery to the neck, a researcher reported here.

NEW YORK -- Certain patients with epilepsy appear to know when a seizure is imminent, suggesting that they could take pre-emptive precautionary measures such as avoiding driving, researchers here have found.

ORLANDO -- Treatment-refractory advanced gastric cancers may respond to combination therapy with Erbitux (cetuximab) and Camptosar (irinotecan), researchers reported here.

ORLANDO -- If all things were equal, a new liver would offer the best chance of long term survival for hepatocellular carcinoma -- but these patients make up a heterogeneous group.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Radiation therapy for most women 65 and older with stage I or II breast cancer helps prevent recurrences or second primaries, determined a multicenter team of investigators.

ORLANDO -- The addition of Avastin (bevacizumab) to Gemzar (gemcitabine) did not improve survival of advanced pancreatic cancer in a randomized trial, researchers here reported.

ORLANDO -- Avastin (bevacizumab) added to an Eloxatin (oxaliplatin)-based chemotherapy regimen modestly extended progression-free survival in metastatic colorectal cancer, according to results of a randomized phase III trial.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Older women with moderately impaired renal function are at increased risk for hip fractures, particularly trochanter breaks, researchers here reported.

ORLANDO -- More that a third of colorectal cancer survivors surveyed said they would be willing to undergo a repeat course of highly toxic therapy for even a minuscule reduction in the risk of recurrence, researchers reported here.

ORLANDO -- Adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1, an oral prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), improved survival compared with surgery alone, according to results of a phase III trial of 1,059 gastric cancer patients here reported here.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- When women choose a breast cancer surgeon, they are twice as likely to opt for a high-volume practitioner at an experienced center than are patients who let the system make the decisions, researchers reported.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Fatter, poorer, and less educated breast cancer patients are more likely to get partial-dose chemotherapy, which may jeopardize their survival, researchers reported.

ORLANDO -- A genetic signature related to telomerase has been strongly associated with an increased risk of death in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), researchers reported here.

ORLANDO -- About half the patients with resectable stomach cancer who would benefit from adjuvant chemoradiation do not get it, researchers reported here today.

WAGENINGEN, The Netherlands -- Folic acid supplementation, improves cognitive function, particularly memory, among older adults with poor folate status, according to Dutch researchers.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The clinical outcome of breast cancer and three other tumor types can be deduced by a "genetic signature" made up of 186 genes, according to researchers here.

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands -- First-generation stent grafts for endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), used only in Europe, have a high rate of rupture and other early and late complications, reported European physician.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Although opioids may give patients with chronic back pain temporary relief, the drugs' long-term efficacy is uncertain, and they carry a high potential for abuse, found a systematic review of clinical studies.