[down double arrow] Why have U.S. breast cancer mortality rates declined since the early 1990s? A metaanalysis of 10 years of data from randomized trials involving almost 150,000 women and published in the May 14 issue of the Lancet may explain. In the late 1980s treatment of early-stage breast cancer with chemotherapy or tamoxifen (Nolvadex) or both became more common. The researchers found that women who received these adjuvant therapies in addition to surgery and radiation experienced a significantly reduced risk of the recurrence of and death from breast cancer. A combination treatment with six months of chemotherapy and five years of tamoxifen conferred the greatest benefit.
[down double arrow] Malaria travels from Guatemala to New York State. In the April 22 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a case of congenital malaria that had surfaced a year prior in Nassau County, New York, in a seven-week-old infant. When his mother, who had emigrated from Guatemala in 2003 and received prenatal care in this country, was interviewed in Spanish a month after her son's illness, she reported that she had been treated for malaria, perhaps incompletely, in Guatemala. The CDC suggests that medical history forms and interviews in patients' native languages may help elicit vital information.
[down double arrow] The brochure "What You Should Know About Research Studies" arms potential subjects with questions they should ask before participating in clinical trials. Published by the Partnership for Human Research Protection, Inc., a collaboration of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the National Committee for Quality Assurance, it's available at http://www.phrp.org/show.asp?durki=10143.