Stool-Based Colon Cancer Tests Vary Widely in Accuracy
Newer versions of the stool-based colon cancer tests — recommended annually for Americans over 50 — vary widely in their ability to spot potential abnormalities, a German study finds. Doctors at 20 gastroenterology practices in Germany used the tests for what is called fecal occult blood — otherwise undetectable traces of blood that could come from a cancer or polyp in the intestine... Read more
Breast cancer mutation raises prostate risks in men
The so-called breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 can raise the risk that a man who develops prostate cancer will get an aggressive form of the disease, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday. Certain mutations in the genes indicated a man was at risk of more aggressive cancer and should be treated right away, the team at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University said. Their study... Read more
Zoloft, Lexapro the Best of Newer Antidepressants
Sertraline (Zoloft) and escitalopram (Lexapro) are the best of 12 new-generation antidepressants, while reboxetine is the least effective, a new analysis shows. The Italian researchers reviewed 117 studies that included more than 25,000 patients with major depression to come to this conclusion. The drugs tested in the trials were bupropion (Wellbutrin/Zyban), citalopram (Celexa), duloxetine (Cymbalta),... Read more
Obesity Caught Like Common Cold
Yet another claim that a common and contagious virus is linked to some cases of obesity is in the news today. Studies on humans show that 33 per cent of obese adults had contracted an adenovirus called AD-36 at some point in their lives, according to an article in the UK’s Daily Express, whereas only 11 per cent of lean men and women have had the virus. The research, to be presented in a BBC... Read more
Why Cancer in One Breast May Affect the Other
Researchers say they have found a way to better calculate the risk a woman with cancer in one breast has of developing tumors in the other breast. The chances of developing cancer in a second breast, known as contralateral breast cancer, increases once a tumor has been found in one breast. And certain factors, such as a family history of breast cancer, further increase this risk, prompting some women... Read more
Optimal Treatment Boosts Blacks’ Lung Cancer Survival
Survival disparities between white and black patients with early-stage lung cancer disappear when black patients receive optimal therapy, according to a U.S. study that included nearly 18,000 patients. Surgery to remove a portion of the lung (pulmonary resection) provides the best chance of a cure for patients with early-stage lung cancer. “Black patients with early-stage lung cancer have lower... Read more
Hepatitis C ups liver cancer risk, study confirms
The risk of a rare form of liver cancer called intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, which occurs in the bile ducts of the liver, is significantly elevated in individuals who are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to a large “case-control” study of US veterans. HCV-infected individuals are also at increased risk for another type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma,... Read more
More Americans Urged to Get Cancer Screenings
Screening for breast, cervical and colon cancer saves lives, but too few Americans are getting the recommended screens or getting them regularly enough, a new report shows. The rate of screening for breast and cervical cancers has stayed about the same since 2000, while the rate of colorectal cancer screening has increased but not as fast as experts had hoped, according to the report released Thursday... Read more
New anti-psychotic medications as risky as older ones: study
Newer anti-psychotic medications used to treat schizophrenia, dementia and other psychiatric disorders appear to double a patient’s risk of sudden heart failure, research published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine found. The major study is the latest in recent months to show that these newer drugs, dubbed “atypical medications,” are not much safer than the older generation... Read more
With Depression, Vets Face Higher Suicide Risk
About a third of the veterans treated in Veterans Affairs hospitals suffer from depression, putting them at much greater risk of suicide than non-depressed veterans, University of Michigan researchers report. But is that risk greater at certain times, and might it be related to their use of antidepressants, the researchers wondered? Their five-year study of veterans with depression revealed a spike... Read more