Welcome to the first installment of From the Editor’s Desk, a new feature in which Frontline Editors – stewards of their respective news and clinical publications – bring you the latest developments in their specialty of interest.

Kicking off with OBG Management, here we keep a close eye on the ever-changing clinical practice environment, with our mission focused on providing obstetricians and gynecologists with useful, timely, peer-reviewed information from authoritative sources.

For this first Desk installment, I wanted to focus on a key issue currently facing ObGyns: how to advise patients with dense breasts as to next steps for ongoing cancer screening. With more than 40,000 women dying from breast cancer each year, screening is top of mind for both ObGyns and their patients. Screening mammography’s benefit, however, is greatly reduced for those women with dense breasts—a full 40% of US women. Startlingly, more than one-third of breast cancers are not visible on mammograms of women with dense breasts.

So, what is the screening solution for these women? Unfortunately, there are no clinical guidelines in place. Many states, the number growing everyday, now require that women be informed of their breast density status upon screening mammography. Therefore, more women are asking their ObGyns what to do, and these specialists are are left sifting the evidence.

Enter Mark Pearlman, MD—a newly appointed Contributing Editor to the journal. A breast disease specialist, Dr. Pearlman is offering his expert commentary for readers on the latest research on supplemental imaging—regarding if, when, and with what tools—for women with dense breasts.

As the primary author of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee Opinion on appropriate breast cancer screening for women with dense breasts, we are privileged to have Dr. Pearlman’s expert perspective on this unfolding issue. Stay tuned for our continued coverage of this topic—from Dr. Pearlman and other nationally renowned experts.

Additionally, watch in the coming months for two special issues focused on Innovations in Patient Safety for Women’s Health. One will center on minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and the other on operative obstetrics. These issues will feature roundtables, clinical articles, and a much-anticipated peer-to-peer video—all in an effort to bring forth the best evidence-based practices to readers.

If you don’t already, keep your eye on OBG Management for these exciting initiatives and continued focus on practice-changing issues. Under the expert and impassioned leadership of Editor in Chief Robert L. Barbieri, MD, we offer you the most read clinical journal in its specialty.

Questions about OBG Management? 

Contact Group Publisher
Dianne Reynolds [email protected]

Lila O’Connor – Editor, OBG Management