Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Plant-Based Diet Linked To Lower Bowel Cancer Risk For Men
USA Today: Pass The Broccoli, Please: Plant-Based Diet Can Cut Bowel Cancer Risk In Men By 22%, Study Shows
The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, involved 79,952 U.S. men and found those eating the highest level of healthy plant-based foods could cut their risk by up to 22% compared with those who ate the least. But researchers found no such link among 93,475 U.S. women in the study. (Neysa Alund, 11/29)
Reuters: Japanese Biotech Firm Uses Tiny Worms In Test For Pancreatic Cancer
A Japanese biotech firm says it has developed the world's first early screening test for pancreatic cancer, using the powerful noses of tiny worms. Hirotsu Bio Science this month launched its N-NOSE plus Pancreas test, marketing directly to consumers in Japan and with aims to bring the test to the United States by 2023. (Swift, 11/30)
KHN: Racial Disparities In Lung Cancer Start With Research
During a routine visit to the Good Samaritan Clinic in Morganton, North Carolina, in 2018, Herbert Buff casually mentioned that he sometimes had trouble breathing. He was 55 years old and a decades-long smoker. So the doctor recommended that Buff schedule time on a 35-foot-long bus operated by the Levine Cancer Institute that would roll through town later that week offering free lung-cancer screenings. Buff found the “lung bus” concept odd, but he’s glad he hopped on. (Newsome, 11/30)
Stat: The VALID Act Can Improve Lab Test Standards
Cancer is becoming less deadly in America. According to the recently released Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, overall cancer death rates have continued to decline by about 2% per year over the last several years for Americans of all ages, races, and genders. The decline in cancer death rates is clearly welcome news and coincides with a significant shift in cancer treatment through the development of new targeted therapies and accompanying diagnostic tests that guide their use. (Allen and Lacasse, 11/30)
