Tag Archives: cancer

Vaccine exemptions rising, tied to whooping cough

The number of New York parents who had their child skip at least one required vaccine due to religious reasons increased over the past decade, according to a new study. What's more, researchers found counties with high religious exemption rates also had more whooping cough cases - even among children that had been fully vaccinated. States set their own requirements on which vaccines a child must have received to enter school. All allow exemptions for medical reasons, and most, including New York, also permit parents with a religious objection to forgo vaccination. Less than half of states permit exemptions due to personal or philosophical beliefs. But those also can get counted under religious views in places with less strict exemption policies. “Particularly in New York State, I do believe that parents are using religious exemptions for their personal beliefs,” said Dr. Jana Shaw, who worked on the study at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. “There's a lot of vaccine hesitancy.” Studies have shown cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, have been on the rise across the U.S. Researchers suspect that's due to the use of a new type of pertussis vaccine - which is safer, but less effective over the long run - and to more children missing or delaying vaccination. For their study, Shaw and her colleagues tracked data from the New York State Department of Health on both religious exemptions and new whooping cough cases. Children were reported as having a religious exemption if they had been allowed to skip at least one required vaccine for non-medical reasons. Between 2000 and 2011, the proportion of religiously exempt kids increased from 23 in 10,000 to 45 in 10,000, the study team reported Monday in Pediatrics. The number of counties where at least 1 percent of children had a religious exemption also increased, from four to 13. Most of those counties were in western or northern New York. Higher religious exemption rates were tied to more reported cases of whooping cough. In counties with at least 1 percent exemption, 33 out of every 100,000 children developed pertussis each year, compared to 20 per 100,000 in counties with fewer religious exemptions. 'Overwhelming evidence' on safety Children who had been fully vaccinated were also more likely to get sick in places with high exemption rates. No vaccine is 100 percent perfect, so infectious disease prevention relies on “herd immunity” - when enough kids are vaccinated that the infection can't spread. “If you have enough exempted children in your schools and neighborhood, they will put even vaccinated children at risk,” Shaw told Reuters Health. Saad Omer, a researcher at the Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta, said the pattern of increasing non-medical exemptions has been seen in other states as well, including Michigan and California. Because of the general success of vaccination, “there is less disease to go around and there's less individual and collective experience. You don't hear about the disease that often,” he told Reuters Health. “When that happens, successive cohorts of parents start evaluating the real or perceived risk of vaccines more than the risk of disease.” But those perceived risks - such as a link between vaccines and autism - have not panned out. “If you look at the risk-benefit ratio between side effects of vaccines and the benefits they render, it's not even a close call. It's hugely, heavily in favor of vaccines,” said Omer, who wasn't involved in the new research. Shaw agreed. “Vaccines are extremely safe, in spite of what the Internet and other sources have argued,” she said. “We have overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe.” Both Omer and Shaw said they don't think states and schools should pass judgment on parents' religious beliefs, but that it shouldn't be easy to get a vaccine exemption for convenience or personal preference. And, Omer added, “those who don't get (their kids) vaccinated should remember that it's not a benign choice. There are real disease risks.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/vaccine-exemptions-rising-tied-to-whooping-cough/

Merck melanoma drug shrinks tumors in 38 percent of patients

A Merck & Co drug designed to unmask tumor cells and mobilize the immune system into fighting cancer helped shrink tumors in 38 percent of patients with advanced melanoma in an early-stage study, U.S. researchers said on Sunday. Based on the findings about the drug lambrolizumab, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, Merck says it will move directly into a late-stage clinical trial, which will start in the third quarter. “This is a top priority at Merck,” Dr. Gary Gilliand, senior vice present and head of oncology at Merck Research Laboratories said in a meeting with investors. “We're going flat out to deliver benefit to patients with this novel mechanism.” The moves may heap pressure on market leader Bristol-Myers Squibb, maker of Yervoy - the only approved immune system drug for the treatment of advanced melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Bristol-Myers is conducting three phase-three studies of its own drug called nivolumab in advanced melanoma, and is studying the drug's effect on a range of other cancers, including lung cancer. Both nivolumab and lambrolizumab are part of a promising new class of drugs that disable programmed death 1 or PD-1, a protein that keeps the immune system from spotting and attacking cancer cells. “Even though it's (lambrolizumab) the second player in the field and even though it's all early, it impressed me,” said Dr. Antoni Ribas of the University of California Los Angeles' Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the lead author of the study. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration deemed the treatment a “breakthrough therapy,” a designation FDA cancer drugs chief Dr. Richard Pazdur described as “knock-your-socks-off therapies.” Results of an early-stage study of nivolumab in advanced melanoma released at the cancer meeting showed 31 percent of patients overall responded to different doses of the drug. Among those who took the 3 milligram per kilogram dose, 41 percent of patients responded. The drug response lasted an average of two years, and in many patients the drug kept working even after they stopped taking it. Analysts expect the drugs to generate billions of dollars in sales. Nivolumab alone is forecast to have sales of $1.2 billion in 2017, according to Wall Street analysts tracked by Thomson Reuters Pharma. Merck's study Merck's results are from the first clinical trial of lambrolizumab in advanced melanoma. They are based on analysis of 135 patients with metastatic melanoma who were divided into three groups with different treatment regimens. Overall, lambrolizumab resulted in 38 percent of patients having confirmed improvement of their cancer across all dose levels given after 12 weeks of treatment. But there was a wide range among doses, with only a 25 percent rate among patients who got the lowest dose and 52 percent among those who got the highest dose. In the highest dose group, 10 percent had a complete response, meaning their tumors could not be detected on scans. Side effects were generally mild and included fatigue, fevers, skin rash, loss of skin color and muscle weakness. More severe side effects were seen in 13 percent of patients, including inflammation of the lung or kidney and thyroid problems. “This study is showing the highest rate of durable melanoma responses of any drug we have tested thus far in this cancer, and it is doing it without serious side effects in the great majority of patients,” Ribas said. Merck said it plans to start a late-stage randomized trial of the drug in melanoma and in non-small cell lung cancer in the third quarter of this year. The company recently started a global, randomized mid-stage study of the drug versus standard chemotherapy in patients whose disease had progressed. And it is studying the drug as a treatment for triple negative breast, metastatic bladder and head and neck cancers. Researchers at the meeting marveled at responses to new immune system treatments after decades of failed studies among patients with melanoma. Only about one in five patients respond to Yervoy, approved in 2011 as the first immunotherapy to extend survival in patients with advanced melanoma. Yervoy works by blocking CTLA-4, a different molecule that also keeps the immune system from attacking cancer. Ribas said he has followed one patient on Yervoy for 12 years now. “She's not supposed to be around, and she's alive and well and melanoma free. That is why we've been doing these immunotherapies,” he said. With Yervoy, Ribas said these types of responses were few and far between. With the new PD-1 drugs, they are much more common, with fewer side effects. However, an early-stage Bristol-Myers' study released this month showed that 53 percent of patients who got a combination of Yervoy and nivolumab had at least a 50 percent reduction in tumor size, with fewer side effects. Tim Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation, said combination treatments would make a major difference for patients because they help overcome cancer's “sneaky” ability to evade treatment. But, at this point, he said, “Nobody knows which one is better.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/merck-melanoma-drug-shrinks-tumors-in-38-percent-patients/

The dirt on hotel rooms

We asked several industry insiders to help us peel back the covers on your home away from home. Here's how to make the most of any stay.  “Eco-Friendly” Actually Means “Dirty Sheets” Here's a travel tip you might not have heard: Bedspreads are often cleaned just once a month. But sheets can dodge detergent, too.  “Some hotels take a unique approach to the water-conservation trend,” the housekeeping director we interviewed said. “Unless they look soiled, sheets may not be changed.” The solution: Ask for fresh sheets.  “When I travel, I change my own sheets,” one hotel director said.  Know what else you should change while you're on the road? Your diet. (Find out how one Men's Health reader wedged tough workouts and smart dining into his busy schedule.) Your Bill is Bogus The average business traveler is overcharged $11.35 a night, according to an audit of hotel bills by Corporate Lodging Consultants, a firm that helps companies and governments trim travel costs. Beware of fees for fridges, or anything labeled “local.” The solution: Question every charge, especially at the end of the month, one hotel controller said.  “It's unbelievable what managers do to make budget.” Even worse than the managers are some of the offerings at the morning buffet. (Avoid these 8 killer breakfast foods.) Upgrades Can Come Cheap Here's a travel tip from insiders: Upgrade at check-in. Full occupancy is rare - the average is 63 percent, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and suites are often vacant.  “A smart manager knows that the cost to clean a suite is roughly the same as for a regular room,” one manager said. The solution: Make the hotel more money. Offer 20 percent more than your current rate for the upgrade; you could be sleeping in a suite. (Just make sure you're sleeping in style with this well-traveled wardrobe.) Some Souvenirs Have Legs Hotels are a haven for bedbugs. Pest-control companies say hotels account for more than 37 percent of their bedbug business, according to Pest Control Technology magazine. The solution: Search for your hotel on bedbugregistry.com. Scan mattress and couch creases for the reddish brown bloodsuckers and their black droppings, Jason Rasgon, a public-health professor at Johns Hopkins, said. At home, dry your clothes on high for 45 minutes to kill stowaways. The Bathroom is Cleaner Than the TV Remote  Often, the worst germ incubators are the frequently touched surfaces: the thermostat dial, phone, and remote. Chuck Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, actually found more traces of fecal matter on these surfaces than in the bathroom. The solution: Use hand sanitizer, and wash your hands frequently. A recent study reported that cold germs linger for more than a day on surfaces.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/dirt-on-hotel-rooms/

Utah twins doing well after being born on side of interstate

A set of Utah twins are doing well after they were born on the side of an interstate Sunday. Fox 13 reports Lynette Hales of Utah was not due until August, but began to go into labor while visiting a friend in Nevada. Her friend began driving her to the hospital, but was forced to pull over on the side of Interstate 80 as Hales grew closer to delivery. With the help of a 911 dispatcher, Hales' friend was able to deliver both boys. The first twin, named J.J., was not breathing, so Hales performed CPR on him and was able to resuscitate him. J.J. and his twin, A.J., were taken  to a Utah hospital and are doing well, Fox 13 reports. Click for more from Fox 13.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/utah-twins-doing-well-after-being-born-on-side-interstate/

First non-surgical circumcision device could slow spread of AIDS in Africa, officials say

Health officials have approved a first-of-its-kind, non-surgical circumcision device hailed as a potential game-changer in the battle to forestall the spread of AIDS in Africa. The PrePex is the only circumcision method, aside from conventional surgery, to gain World Health Organization approval to date, according to The New York Times. The international health organization reportedly gave its approval to the device on Friday.    Dr. Eric P. Goosby, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, subsequently told the paper the PrePex would “truly help save lives” and that he was even considering the immediate employment of funds from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to pay for its widespread use in AIDS-ravaged Africa. Circumcision reportedly lowers the chance of a heterosexual male contracting HIV, or the virus that causes AIDS, through sexual intercourse by about 60 percent.  The Times reports the U.S. has thus-far paid for more than 2 million circumcisions in Africa to assist the continent with its spiraling AIDS epidemic. A two-nurse team reportedly employs the PrePex to kill off a male’s foreskin through the utilization of a rubber band. The procedure, The Times reported, necessitates only topical anesthesia, and is safer than surgery. The device was developed by Circ MedTech, an Irsaeli company founded in 2009, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.  source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/02/first-non-surgical-circumcision-device-could-slow-spread-aids-in-africa/

Therapy that heats and destroys bone tumors eases patients’ pain

Mark Hurwitz, MD, Director of Thermal Oncology for the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital reported that the treatment, magnetic resonance image-guided focused ultrasound (MRIgFU) ablation therapy, significantly reduced pain in 67 percent of patients who received the treatment. …

No increased risk of infection for long-term sex partners of people with HPV-related oral cancers, study suggests

“While we can’t guarantee that the partners of patients will not develop oral HPV infections or cancers, we can reassure them that our study found they had no increased prevalence of oral infections, which suggests their risk of HPV-related oral cancer remains low,” says Gypsyamber D’Souza, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is expected to present the results of her study June 1 at the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting…

New therapy shown to improve progression-free survival and shrink tumors in rare cancer for the first time

The findings are potentially practice-changing for a historically "untreatable disease." Though uveal melanoma is rare — there are only 2,500 cases diagnosed in the United States each year — about half of patients will develop metastatic disease, and survival for patients with advanced disease has held steady at nine months to a year for decades. Researchers found that progression-free survival (PFS) in patients receiving selumetinib was nearly 16 weeks and 50 percent of these patients experienced tumor shrinkage, with 15 percent achieving major shrinkage. Patients receiving temozolomide, the current standard chemotherapy, had seven weeks of PFS and no tumor shrinkage. …