POM Wonderful, maker of pomegranate juice and other pomegranate-containing products, ran afoul of the Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission in September for making “false and unsubstantiated” health claims on …
Cancer
Study: Daily Aspirin Helps Reduce Cancer Deaths
Millions of middle-aged and elderly people already take a low-dose aspirin to lower their risk of heart attack or stroke. But could their daily preventive be staving off cancer too? New research published Dec. 7 in The Lancet …
Do Dental Scans Put Your Child at Risk of Cancer?
In case you missed it, the New York Times ran this week a stunning expose of the overuse of new X-ray technology in children’s dentistry. The article was part of the paper’s ongoing investigation into problems with the use of …
A Step Toward Personalized Care of Leukemia Patients
Researchers have discovered gene mutations in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that may help doctors determine which treatments will work best for which patients early on.
Radiation May Be a Greater Cancer Risk for Adults Than Doctors Thought
From the sun’s ultraviolet rays to the weak cosmic exposure we get on plane flights to the screening tests that doctors recommend, our bodies are constantly bombarded with small but relatively consistent doses of potentially …
Kids, Cancer and Clinical Trials: Parents Are Confused
Fifty years ago, a diagnosis of childhood leukemia meant you needed to start planning your child’s funeral. Now it’s got an 85% cure rate, largely due to advances attributed to information gleaned from pediatric clinical …
Balancing the Risks: Skin Cancer Patients Are Deficient in Vitamin D
It’s a health conundrum that doctors have been trying to resolve for several years now: most Americans are deficient in vitamin D, which can help to build bones and even protect against certain cancers and autoimmune diseases …
Revisiting the Debate: Mammogram Benefit for Women in Their 40s?
Adding to the ongoing debate over the benefit of screening mammograms, a new study suggests the tests can reduce breast cancer death rates by 26% in women in their 40s.
Cell Phones and Cancer: A Scientist’s Persuasive New Book
Dr. Devra Davis’s new book Disconnect — the result of an investigation into the data on cell phones and cancer, as well as the wireless industry’s efforts to stave off regulation — is convincing enough to give you pause …
Clinical Trial Dilemma: Save Lives Now — or Later?
An excellent front-page story by Amy Harmon in Sunday’s New York Times told a heart-rending tale of two cousins. Thomas McLaughlin, 24, was given a promising experimental drug to fight his life-threatening skin cancer in a clinical trial.
Childhood Cancer Has Its Gold-Ribbon Day
Monday was National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day, a time set aside by the U.S. Senate to brandish gold ribbons and focus attention on pediatric cancer. It can all seem quite abstract when talking about the thousands of children who receive a cancer diagnosis each year. But break it down to smaller numbers, like the 46 kids who learn …
Study: Cancer Deaths Decline in Europe, but New Cases Rise
As cancer treatment gets more sophisticated, a diagnosis no longer means a death sentence. But while dying of cancer is less likely, a European study finds that the rate of developing cancer is higher than ever.
The Daily Dose: Throat Cancer, ‘Disgusting Human Babies’ and 90210 Day
Wall Street star Michael Douglas announced this week that he is one week into an eight-week course of chemotherapy and radiation for a Stage 4 tumor at the base of his tongue. The tumor was discovered about three weeks ago …