Tag Archives: cancer

Most childhood cancer survivors have health problems in adulthood

Nearly all childhood cancer survivors have at least one chronic health condition by the time they reach middle age, a new study suggests. In the study, 95 percent of childhood cancer survivors had a chronic health problem such as hearing loss, heart valve abnormalities, lung problems, memory problems or new cancers by age 45. (For comparison, about 38 percent of adults in the general population who are ages 35 to 64 have at least one chronic health condition). While some cancer survivors in the study had no symptoms from these problems, about 80 percent had a life-threatening, serious or disabling condition, the study found. Considering that participants in the study were relatively young (the average age was 32), the prevalence of disorders typically associated with old age was particularly striking, researchers said. Those disorders include cataracts (15 percent), nerve pain (20 percent) and cognitive impairment (35 percent). These findings suggest that in some cases, cancer treatment may accelerate aging, the researchers said. The findings underscore the need for doctors to monitor childhood cancer survivors for conditions that could cause significant health problems if not detected early, the researchers said. Physicians should check for new cancers, heart disease and additional problems that can be improved with treatment, such as vision deficits. Childhood cancer survivors should be aware of the treatment they had when they were younger so that their doctors can order appropriate screening tests, said study researcher Kirsten Ness, of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Some survivors may be able to reduce their risk of certain health conditions. For instance, cancer survivors who are at risk for high blood pressure or blood fat levels may be able to reduce their risk of these conditions by following a healthy lifestyle (eating healthy foods, exercising and not smoking), Ness said. Childhood cancer, adult health Some cancer treatments may increase the risk of adult health problems because the treatments damage normal tissue in addition to cancer cells, Ness said. Most previous studies of childhood cancer survivors asked participants about their health problems, but did not evaluate them with a medical exam. These studies thus likely underestimated the prevalence of chronic conditions. In the new study, 1,713 childhood cancer survivors underwent a battery of medical tests such as measurements of blood pressure, blood glucose levels, resting heart rate, heart electrical activity and thyroid function. Some participants, who were considered “at risk” for certain conditions because of the type of cancer treatment they had received in childhood, were also screened with more specific tests, such as mammograms to detect breast cancer among women who underwent chest radiation. In these “at risk” survivors, lung problems were diagnosed in 65 percent of patients, hormone problems involving the hypothalamus and pituitary gland were diagnosed in 61 percent, heart abnormalities were diagnosed in 56 percent, and cognitive impairment, including memory problems, was diagnosed in 48 percent. Participants were survivors of childhood leukemia, lymphoma and tumors of the brain, bone and other organs. Future research Not all of the health problems detected by the tests were noticeable in everyday life. For instance, although tests showed that leukemia survivors who had received radiation experienced impaired memory, their ability to hold a job and carry out daily activities was not affected. Future research will be needed to examine how this problem, and other problems that don't show symptoms, progress over time, the researchers said. Additional studies should attempt to determine which factors predispose childhood cancer survivors to the conditions seen in the study, the researchers said. The study was published June 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/11/most-childhood-cancer-survivors-have-health-problems-in-adulthood/

Program helped limit antibiotic misuse in kids

A one-hour educational session followed by personalized feedback helped pediatricians more closely align their antibiotic prescribing habits with national guidelines, in a new study. Researchers found fewer doctors in the program prescribed a drug that could increase the risk of antibiotic resistance for children with pneumonia or a sinus infection, compared to those who received no extra guidance. “We tried to keep it relatively simple,” said Dr. Jeffery Gerber, who led the new study at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. “Our hope is that any practice with an electronic health record would be able to adopt this strategy.” The potential for antibiotic resistance - when bacteria no longer respond to certain drugs - exists any time an antibiotic is used. Researchers have focused on limiting overuse or misuse of those drugs, in hopes they will continue to work when needed. One strategy for preventing resistance is to prescribe the antibiotic most specifically targeted to a particular infection, rather than a “broad-spectrum” antibiotic that can kill many types of bacteria. For their new study, Gerber and his colleagues tracked how often pediatricians prescribed a broad-spectrum drug versus “narrow-spectrum” options such as penicillin and amoxicillin, which are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for conditions like pneumonia and sinus infections. Their data came from 162 doctors at 18 pediatric primary care practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, nine of which received the year-long education and electronic feedback intervention. In the 20 months before the initial education session, doctors prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics to 27 percent of kids with common respiratory infections. During the program, that fell to 14 percent. In comparison, the decline in antibiotic misuse was much smaller at practices where doctors didn't receive education or feedback: from 28 percent to 23 percent, Gerber's team reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers did not see a reduction in how often antibiotics were inappropriately prescribed for viral conditions - but those numbers were low to begin with, they said. Dr. Adam Hersh, who studies pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said doctors in general are getting better at not prescribing antibiotics when they won't help, such as for the common cold. But concerns about increasing resistance continue. “Despite the success in the decline in overall antibiotic use that we've seen over the last decade, at the same time there's still an ongoing problem and even increasing problem of overuse of unnecessarily broad-spectrum antibiotics,” he said. Narrow-spectrum drugs “will limit the collateral damage that goes along with antibiotic prescribing,” said Hersh, who didn't participate in the new study. And they're often cheaper than broad-spectrum versions. He said the program used in the new study has the advantage of being relatively cheap and non-intrusive, so it's likely to work for other types of practices. Still, it's unclear from these findings whether the rate of broad-spectrum prescribing would stay down after doctors stopped getting regular antibiotic-related feedback, Gerber and his colleagues noted. Hersh said parents can do their part by asking if an antibiotic is really necessary when the doctor prescribes one, as well as if it's the most appropriate version. “The number one thing is to make sure the kid gets the best medication that cures their infection,” Gerber said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/program-helped-limit-antibiotic-misuse-in-kids/

Scientists say new study shows pig health hurt by GMO feed

Pigs fed a diet of only genetically modified grain showed markedly higher stomach inflammation than pigs who dined on conventional feed, according to a new study by a team of Australian scientists and U.S. researchers. The study adds to an intensifying public debate over the impact of genetically modified crops, which are widely used by U.S. and Latin American farmers and in many other countries around the world. The study was published in the June issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Organic Systems by researchers from Australia who worked with two veterinarians and a farmer in Iowa to study the U.S. pigs. Lead researcher Judy Carman is an epidemiologist and biochemist and director of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research in Adelaide, Australia. The study was conducted over 22.7 weeks using 168 newly weaned pigs in a commercial U.S. piggery. One group of 84 ate a diet that incorporated genetically modified (GM) soy and corn, and the other group of 84 pigs ate an equivalent non-GM diet. The corn and soy feed was obtained from commercial suppliers, the study said, and the pigs were reared under identical housing and feeding conditions. The pigs were then slaughtered roughly five months later and autopsied by veterinarians who were not informed which pigs were fed on the GM diet and which were from the control group. Researchers said there were no differences seen between pigs fed the GM and non-GM diets for feed intake, weight gain, mortality, and routine blood biochemistry measurements. But those pigs that ate the GM diet had a higher rate of severe stomach inflammation - 32 percent of GM-fed pigs compared to 12 percent of non-GM-fed pigs. The inflammation was worse in GM-fed males compared to non-GM fed males by a factor of 4.0, and GM-fed females compared to non-GM-fed females by a factor of 2.2. As well, GM-fed pigs had uteri that were 25 percent heavier than non-GM fed pigs, the study said. The researchers said more long-term animal feeding studies need to be done. Biotech seeds are genetically altered to grow into plants that tolerate treatments of herbicide and resist pests, making producing crops easier for farmers. Some critics have argued for years that the DNA changes made to the transgenic plants engineer novel proteins that can be causing the digestive problems in animals and possibly in humans. The companies that develop these transgenic crops, using DNA from other bacteria and other species, assert they are more than proven safe over their use since 1996. CropLife International, a global federation representing the plant science industry, said more than 150 scientific studies have been done on animals fed biotech crops and to date, there is no scientific evidence of any detrimental impact.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/scientists-say-new-study-shows-pig-health-hurt-by-gmo-feed/

New website keeps loved ones informed during surgery

Just mentioning the word surgery can send chills down a person's spine. Whether it’s a simple appendectomy or a more complicated procedure, going under the knife can be frightening for both patients and families alike. Now, a new website, MDconnectME.com, is helping to settle the nerves of friends, significant others and family members all across the globe. The website, which is free to use, was designed to allow family members to stay informed while their loved one undergoes an operation. Before surgery, patients make a list of people to notify during their procedure, which grants their doctor permission to send previously-typed notes like, “Ann is now heading into the operating room for surgery,” throughout the day. These messages can be sent through text or e-mail. MDconnectME.com is now being used throughout the country at centers such as Mount Sinai Hospital, Johns Hopkins, and UCLA. For more information, go to MDconnectME.comsource : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/new-website-keeps-loved-ones-informed-during-surgery/

Quick and simple ways to reduce risk from the most common form of cancer

"The easiest way to prevent skin cancer is to protect your skin with clothing," said board-certified dermatologist Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD, consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. "Keep a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses near your door so you can put them on before you go outside…

Diabetes drug points the way to overcoming drug resistance in melanoma

Their studies, conducted in cell and animal models of melanoma, demonstrate that the combined therapy could destroy a subset of drug-resistant cells within a tumor. "We have found that the individual cells within melanoma tumors are not all identical, and tumors contain a sub-population of cells that are inherently drug resistant, which accounts for the fact that advanced melanoma tumors return no matter how much the tumor is depleted," said Meenhard Herlyn, D.V.M., D.Sc., professor and director of Wistar’s Melanoma Research Center. "We found that these slow-growing, drug-resistant cells are marked by a high rate of metabolism, which makes them susceptible to diabetes therapeutics." "Our findings suggest a simple strategy to kill metastatic melanoma — regardless of cell type within the tumor — by combining anticancer drugs with diabetes drug," Herlyn said. "The diabetes drug puts the brakes on the cells that would otherwise repopulate the tumor, thus allowing the anticancer drug to be more effective." In the Cancer Cell article, the researchers describe how various anticancer drugs, including cisplatin and the targeted therapy vemurafenib, which targets melanomas with the BRAF mutation, become more effective when co-delivered with phenformin. …

More doctors unclogging heart arteries through wrist

During artery unclogging procedures, doctors are increasingly accessing the heart through a vein in the wrist, rather than in the groin, Medical News Today reported. Artery unblocking surgeries, known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary angioplasty, involve widening narrow areas of the artery by angioplasty or another similar method. Traditionally, doctors in the United States have accessed the heart through the femoral artery in the groin. However, a new study in the journal Circulation reveals that the number of wrist-entry operations, or radial PCIs, in the United States increased 13-fold between 2004 and 2007, Medical News Today reported. Based on data gathered from nearly 3 million procedures, researchers found that patients had a lower risk for bleeding complications during wrist-entry surgeries, compared to groin-entry surgeries. This is relevant because many patients undergoing artery unclogging surgeries are also on blood thinners, increasing their risk for bleeding complications post-surgery. As radial PCIs increase in popularity, researchers note that they are most effective for high-risk patients, including people 75 or older, women and patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACE), Medical News Today reported. Click for more from Medical News Today.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/11/more-doctors-unclogging-heart-arteries-through-wrist/

Screening fails to affect breast cancer mortality statistics, UK study finds

Researchers from the Department of Public Health at the University of Oxford sought evidence of a decline in population-based breast cancer mortality that could be attributed to the implementation of mammographic screening programmes. They concluded that population-based mortality statistics for England do not show a past benefit of breast cancer screening…

Diabetes-related deaths in New York City hit all-time high

Health officials say diabetes-related deaths in New York City have hit a record high, though the death rate is below the national average. The city Health Department said Monday that the disease was the underlying or a contributing cause of 5,695 deaths in 2011. That is about 160 more such deaths than in 2010 and 1,260 more than in 1990. That happened while the city's overall death rate hit an all-time low in 2010, when almost 8,000 fewer people died than in 2000. The city's diabetes death rate now amounts to 67 fatalities per 100,000 people. The federal Health and Human Services Department says the national rate was just over 73 diabetes-related deaths per 100,000 people in 2007. The city is launching a radio ad campaign about the risks of diabetes.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/11/diabetes-related-deaths-in-new-york-city-hit-all-time-high/