Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Brief Periods Of Moving Quickly Daily Linked To Lower Cancer Risks
The Washington Post: Why Moving Fast 3 Minutes A Day Can Lower Cancer Risk
Run to catch the bus and you might also help to lower your risk of developing at least 13 types of cancer, according to a surprising new study in JAMA Oncology. The study used activity-tracker data for more than 22,000 men and women to show that those people who moved fast for at least 3 minutes a day, rushing up the stairs or hurrying to the subway, were about 30 percent less likely to die of many types of cancer than people who almost always strolled gently from place to place, even if none of them otherwise exercised. (Reynolds, 8/9)
CBS News: Daily Sugary Drinks Can Increase Liver Cancer Risk In Women, Study Suggests
A team of researchers, including from Harvard, studied dietary data on nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women over two decades. They found that those who consumed one or more servings a day of sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda, had significantly higher rates of liver cancer and chronic liver disease compared to women who drank these beverages no more than three times a month. (Marshall, 8/9)
USA Today: Anxiety, Depression Not Linked To Common Cancer Types, Study Finds
In a study published this week in the journal "Cancer," they found no link between depression or anxiety and breast, prostate, colon or alcohol-related cancers over 26 years. Anxiety or depression did lead to a 6% increased risk for developing lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers, but most of that link disappeared when researches accounted for how much someone smoked. "We hope our findings provde some relief and people don't get stuck in the thought process, 'maybe if I had had therapy sooner for my depression' or 'maybe if I had worked harder in my therapy,' or 'maybe just got myself out of bed or left the house' this might not have happened to me," said Lonneke van Tuijl, who helped lead the research and is now at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "We don't find evidence for that." (Weintraub, 8/10)
Axios: Patients May Miss Out On Free Coverage Of Cancer Screenings And Vaccinations
Health insurers are failing to adequately inform consumers about preventive services they are entitled to receive at no additional cost, according to a new report from consumer representatives to the national trade group for state insurance regulators. (Goldman, 8/10)
Cancer drugs and treatments —
Reuters: US FDA Approves J&J's Blood Cancer Therapy
Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved its antibody-based therapy for patients with a difficult-to-treat type of blood cancer. The therapy, talquetamab-tgvs branded as Talvey, belongs to a class called bispecific antibodies designed to bring a cancer cell and an immune cell together so the body's immune system can kill the cancer. (8/10)
Stat: Genentech Weighs Delaying Cancer Therapy After Drug Pricing Law
Plenty of pharmaceutical executives have decried Democrats’ new drug pricing law as detrimental to the industry. But few are willing to say they may be willing to delay treatments for cancer patients if it means making more money. (Cohrs, 8/10)
Fox News: Novel Cancer Treatment Offers New Hope When Chemo And Radiation Fail: ‘Big Change In People's Lives'
When it comes to cancer treatments, most people are familiar with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Yet there is another emerging, lesser-known therapy that is showing promising results in treating blood cancers. With CAR T-cell therapy, the patient’s T-cells are taken from the blood, engineered to attack cancer cells and then infused back into the patient’s body through an IV, Dr. Noopur Raje told Fox News Digital. (Rudy, 8/10)
Nature: How A Controversial US Drug Policy Could Be Harming Cancer Patients Worldwide
The FDA’s accelerated-approval process was designed to help people access life-saving drugs. But gaps in communication could mean that people are undergoing treatments known to be ineffective. (8/9)
In news about asbestos —
The Boston Globe: Paul Brodeur, Environmental Writer Who Exposed Dangers Of Asbestos, Dies At 92
A few years before Paul Brodeur began publishing groundbreaking New Yorker magazine articles about environmental hazards and the dangers of asbestos, he was already writing powerful fiction, including a short story drawn from his own heartbreaking experience. (Marquard, 8/9)
AP: Montana Clinic Files For Bankruptcy Following $6 Million Judgment Over False Asbestos Claims
A health clinic in a Montana town plagued by deadly asbestos contamination has filed for bankruptcy protection after a judge ordered it to pay the government almost $6 million in penalties and damages for submitting hundreds of false claims for benefits. The federal bankruptcy filing, submitted Tuesday, will allow the Center for Asbestos Related Disease clinic in the small town of Libby to continue operating while it appeals last month’s judgment, said clinic director Tracy McNew. (Brown, 8/9)
KPAX: Wildfire At Libby Asbestos Superfund Site Contained
A wildfire that was burning in the Libby Asbestos Superfund Site has been contained at two acres. Because the Tub Gulch Fire was burning in the former mine site, the Lincoln County Asbestos Resource Program was collecting air samples to check for asbestos levels. (8/7)
