Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: Most Men Don't Need Aggressive Treatment For Prostate Cancer
AP: Prostate Cancer Treatment Can Wait For Most Men, Study Finds
Researchers have found long-term evidence that actively monitoring localized prostate cancer is a safe alternative to immediate surgery or radiation. The results, released Saturday, are encouraging for men who want to avoid treatment-related sexual and incontinence problems, said Dr. Stacy Loeb, a prostate cancer specialist at NYU Langone Health who was not involved in the research. The study directly compared the three approaches — surgery to remove tumors, radiation treatment and monitoring. Most prostate cancer grows slowly, so it takes many years to look at the disease’s outcomes. (Johnson, 3/11)
The Washington Post: Prostate Cancer Study Shows Some Men Can Avoid, Delay Aggressive Treatments
More aggressive treatment helped slow progression of the disease, but did not lower the men’s overall risk of dying of the disease. The authors say this finding suggests that “more aggressive therapy can result in more harm than good” — because the side effects of those treatments can be debilitating to patients, and may not pay off in the end. (Timsit, 3/12)
In other news about cancer —
The Boston Globe: A Deadly Cancer You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Is Becoming More Common. But A Pioneering HIV Activist Is Hoping To Change That.
Even before he was infected with HIV in 1985, Stewart Landers had become a warrior for AIDS patients at a time when the medical establishment was confounded by the mysterious disease. ... Now, 38 years after his HIV diagnosis, Landers has again been stricken with a disease that is little known, even in the medical establishment. But this time, he is taking his plight public. The 66-year-old health consultant has Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer that is becoming more common in the US and is about five times more lethal than the better-known skin cancer, melanoma. (Lazar, 3/11)
Good Morning America: How Artificial Intelligence Is Being Used To Detect Breast Cancer
As the era of artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to expand, the groundbreaking technology is now being used as a tool to detect breast cancer. More and more breast imaging centers across the country are now using a type of AI called computer-assisted detection, or CAD, to help reduce the number of breast cancer cases that are missed by the traditional mammogram. One major study estimates that mammogram screenings miss about 1 in 8 cases of breast cancer. (3/10)
The New York Times: Cancer Can Upend Your Sex Life. Here’s How To Get Help.
Over the past decade, and particularly in the last few years, there has been a marked increase in studies on how cancer upends women’s sex lives, during treatment and after. ... And yet, some of that very same research — combined with stories from patients, advocates and doctors — suggests that the increase in scientific interest has not made much of a practical difference for women. (Pearson, 3/10)
AP: Jill Biden Promotes Cancer Research In New Orleans
First lady Jill Biden visited a medical center in New Orleans on Friday to stress the importance of cancer research, a priority in the budget proposal President Joe Biden sent to Congress. The Democratic president’s overall budget plan has been roundly criticized by Republicans and won’t make it through Congress intact. But Biden is hoping the fight against cancer will find bipartisan support. ... “Cancer doesn’t care who you vote for,” she told state and city leaders, doctors and researchers gathered for her visit. (McGill, 3/10)
Can artificial turf cause cancer? —
The Guardian: Artificial Turf Potentially Linked To Cancer Deaths Of Six Phillies Ball Players – Report
A report on a possible link between a rare brain cancer that killed six professional US baseball players and toxic chemicals in artificial turf is raising a new round of questions over whether synthetic sports fields pose a health threat to athletes and others who use them. The six athletes, who all died from glioblastoma, played most of their careers with the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that for decades competed on artificial turf in Veterans Stadium, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. (Perkins, 3/10)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Six Former Phillies Died From Brain Cancer. We Tested Vet Turf And Found PFAS, Or 'Forever Chemicals'
In all, six former Phillies have reportedly been felled by glioblastoma — a particularly aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer. The rate of brain cancer among Phillies who played at the Vet between 1971 and 2003 is about three times the average rate among adult men. (Laker and Gambacorta, 3/7)
