Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cancer Treatments Rise For Under 50 Population, Analysis Finds
Axios: Cancer Treatments Jump Among Young Adults
Cancer treatment rates jumped among adults younger than age 50 between 2020 and 2023, according to a FAIR Health analysis shared first with Axios. The report reflects a puzzling rise in the rates of certain cancers, such as colorectal cancer, among younger patients. (Reed, 12/9)
The Washington Post: Cervical Cancer Deaths Drop Among Younger Women; Study Credits HPV Vaccine
Cervical cancer deaths among women younger than 25 have plummeted in recent years, the likely result of vaccinating adolescents against human papillomavirus, or HPV, high-risk strains of which cause the cancer, researchers said. “This is a huge public-health success story,” said Ashish Deshmukh, co-leader of the cancer prevention and control research program at the Medical University of South Carolina’s (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center, and senior author of research recently published in JAMA Network. “Vaccination is the only explanation for this startling and substantial decline.” (Cimons, 12/5)
Stat: Why AML Patients Struggle To Get Bone Marrow Transplants
Bone marrow transplants can be lifesaving for patients with acute myeloid leukemia, but new research reveals how socioeconomic factors create barriers to treatment and higher death rates for people living in disadvantaged communities. (Wosen, 12/8)
In other research news —
CIDRAP: Psilocybin Can Lift Depression In Clinicians Who Worked On COVID-19 Frontlines, Trial Finds
A small double-blind randomized clinical trial of US frontline healthcare workers with COVID-19 pandemic–related depression finds that the psychedelic drug psilocybin can relieve feelings of despair and burnout. For the study, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open, a University of Washington (UW)-led research team randomly assigned 30 physicians, advanced-practice practitioners, and nurses to receive either 25 milligrams (mg) of psilocybin or 100 mg of niacin placebo from February to December 2022. (Van Beusekom, 12/6)
CIDRAP: New Data Highlight The Financial Burden Of Long COVID
In a new study in Health Services Research, US researchers from the University of Georgia report that the cost of long COVID is making it harder for people to pay their bills, buy groceries, and pay for utilities. And those in the lower-income brackets are hardest hit by the chronic condition. Related findings, meanwhile, show that the two-dose booster vaccine appears to cut the risk of long COVID by more than a third over and above the protection provided by the first three vaccine doses. (Soucheray, 12/6)
CIDRAP: Antibiotic De-Escalation In Sepsis Patients Is Uncommon, US Study Finds
An analysis of patients with suspected sepsis at US hospitals found that antibiotic de-escalation was infrequent and varied widely across hospitals but was associated with reduced risk of adverse outcomes, researchers reported today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 12/6)
CIDRAP: Review Finds Audit And Feedback Improves Antibiotic Prescribing In Primary Care
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) found that audit and feedback (A&F) interventions improved antibiotic prescribing across four outcome metrics in primary care settings, an international team of researchers reported yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The reviewers identified 56 RCTs that directly compared antimicrobial stewardship interventions with A&F versus those without A&F and used random-effects meta-analysis to evaluate the evidence across four outcomes. (Dall, 12/6)
AP: Mexico Study's Surprising Finding: Killer Heat Hit Harder For The Young Than The Elderly
A surprising study of temperature-related deaths in Mexico upends conventional thinking about what age group is hit hardest by heat. Researchers found at higher temperatures and humidity, the heat kills far more young people under 35 than those older than 50. For decades, health and weather experts have warned that the elderly and the youngest children were most vulnerable in heat waves. But this study looking at all deaths in Mexico from 1998 to 2019 shows that ... there were nearly 32 temperature-related deaths of people 35 years old for every temperature-related death of someone 50 and older. (Borenstein, 12/6)
AP: Morocco Produces Africa’s First Mpox Tests As The Continent Tries To Rely Less On Imports
After African countries struggled to get testing kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials vowed to make the continent less dependent on imported medical supplies. Now, in a first for Africa, a Moroccan company is filling orders for mpox tests as an outbreak continues. Moroccan startup Moldiag began developing mpox tests after the World Health Organization declared the virus a global emergency in August. Africa’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 59,000 mpox cases and 1,164 deaths in 20 countries this year. (Metz and Alonga, 12/9)
