Rethinking radiotherapy after nodal clearance in breast cancer

0 Comments read Cancer, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 14.08.2025 (Oncology Republic): Is regional nodal irradiation beneficial for women with initially node-positive breast cancer who achieve pathologic nodal clearance (ypN0) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy? The jury is still out.

A landmark phase III study (NRG-NSABP B-51/RTOG 1304) published in the New England Journal of Medicine addressed whether adding RNI benefits women with initially node-positive breast cancer who achieve ypN0 after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

After a median follow-up of 59.5 months, the addition of RNI did not significantly improve invasive recurrence-free survival or any secondary outcomes (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.60–1.28; P = 0.51), and both arms had excellent IBCRFI (92.7% with RNI v/s 91.8% without RNI). Dr David Blakey, radiation oncologist at the ICON Cancer Centre in Mornington, said the results of the study had the potential to significantly alter radiotherapy recommendations after neoadjuvant systemic therapy for women achieving a complete response in the axillary nodes.

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Open-source exoskeleton aims to close disability divide

0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 03.07.2025 (SciDev.Net): Mechanical engineers in the US have decided to make their design open source, ensuring the assistive technology for people with severe physical disabilities is free to access across the globe.

The Northern Arizona University researchers say OpenExo could help people in resource-limited countries create their own wearable robotic devices and foster innovation in this field. The modular robotic device with multiple configurations can assist in the rehabilitation and improved mobility of people with physical disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, stroke-related impairments and cerebral palsy.

Globally, over 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products. According to The WHO and UNICEF Global report on assistive technology (2022), only three per cent of people in some low-income countries have access to the assistive products they need, in comparison to 90 per cent in some high-income countries.

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Empowering communities to become groundwater-wise

1 Comment read Climate Change, Environment & Development, Gender, Health & Science
From Left: Mamta, Varda Devi, Tulsi Devi Bhatt, Rukmini Devi, Hira Bai, Chanda Choubisa in Hinta Village in Udaipur District of Rajasthan (India). Photo Credit: ©Neena Bhandari

The writer received a Special Mention for the article at the 2025 Crawford Fund Food Security Journalism Award

By Neena Bhandari

Hinta and Dharta Villages (Rajasthan), 24.10.2024 (Loss and Damage Research Observatory): Tulsi Devi Bhatt, draped in an embellished purple sari and a full sleeve red kurti (top), navigates her way through the wheat fields in Hinta village in the western Indian state of Rajasthan’s Udaipur district. She is on her weekly mission to measure water level in the dug wells – the quantity of water is critical for the food security and livelihood of her community.

Hinta is part of the two multi-village, hard rock aquifer watersheds – the 6400-hectare Dharta watershed in Rajasthan and 5000-hectare Meghraj watershed in Gujarat, where MARVI – Managing Aquifer Recharge and Sustaining Groundwater Use through Village-level Intervention – project has been instrumental in enhancing groundwater recharge and availability.

Spearheaded by the Western Sydney University in Australia, working in collaboration with seven other partners in India and elsewhere, the MARVI project is aimed at empowering farmers like Tulsi with the knowledge and tools necessary for sustainable and equitable groundwater management in their villages.

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