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Government-Run Screening Programs Might Lead To Overtreatment Of Breast Cancer, Danish Study Says
One in three breast cancer patients identified in certain nations" public screening programs might have undergone unnecessary treatment, according to a study published Friday in BMJ, the AP/Google.com reports. For the study, Karsten Jorgensen and Peter Gotzsche of Copenhagen"s Nordic Cochrane Centre examined breast cancer trends at least seven years before and after the launch of government-run screening programs in parts of Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden. The programs usually test women ages 50 to 69.According to the AP/Google.com, effective screening programs should detect more cases and result in a decline in advanced cancer cases detected in older women, whose cancers would have been caught in earlier screenings. However, the study found that the national screening systems simply detected thousands more cases than previously identified.Experts say that overtreatment of cancer occurs wherever there are widespread screening programs, including in the U.S. Some cancers develop too slowly to ever cause symptoms or death, the AP/Google.com reports. However, it is impossible to determine which cancers will be deadly, so all detected cases are treated. Jorgensen said that there is "significant harm in making women cancer patients without good reason" and that the "information needs to get to women so they can make an informed choice."Gilbert Welch of the VA Outcomes Group and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Research wrote in an accompanying editorial that although mammography "undoubtedly helps some women," it "hurts others." Welch wrote that it is "one of medicine"s "close calls," ... where different people in the same situation might reasonably make different choices."Britain"s National Health Service recently stopped distributing breast cancer screening pamphlets in response to criticism that they included too little information on cancer overtreatment. Laura Bell of Cancer Research UK said that although the organization still urges women to be screened, it is important that they be made aware of potential benefits and harms (Cheng, AP/Google.com, 7/9).

Do Electronic Health Records Help Or Hinder Medical Education?
Many countries worldwide are digitizing patients" medical records. In the
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Acupuncture May Be Beneficial In Relieving Indigestion During Pregnancy
A small study published in Acupuncture Medicine reports that acupuncture may be beneficial in easing symptoms of indigestion which are very frequent in pregnant women. The hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy cause heartburn, stomach pain and discomfort, reflux, belching and bloating. Between 45 to 80 percent of women are reported to experience those symptoms.
Oncology

Global Lupus Experts Gather For Historic Meeting -- Urgent And Unmet Needs Of Individuals With Lupus Dominate Agenda

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) convened an Expert Panel June 1-2 to address the urgent and unmet need for the development and approval of new, safe, effective, and tolerable medications for people with lupus. It has been more than 50 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug specifically to treat lupus. Discussions during the two-day meeting in Washington, DC focused on how to better conduct studies of potential new lupus treatments, including clinical endpoints, diagnostic tools, background medications, and clinical trial design. This historic gathering of 70 lupus thought leaders from around the world, representing academia, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and government, is part of a comprehensive initiative entitled A New 21st Century Approach to Lupus Healthcare, launched by the LFA to advance the science and medicine of lupus. This initiative includes research, education, and policy programs aimed at addressing the multi-dimensional needs of individuals with lupus. During the meeting, the LFA reported on the progress of its three-year study which has now resulted in an international consensus on a definition of lupus flares and proposed flare indices for instruments used to measure disease activity in clinical trials. The definition has been lacking and is necessary in order to measure the effectiveness of potential new therapies for lupus. Scientific challenges are not the only issues that affect the ability of individuals with lupus to receive affordable, accessible health care. The LFA also announced several initiatives related to drug reimbursement, including the launch of a major study of policies in private and public health plans for future lupus drugs. A separate project will examine reimbursement issues that affect the use of off-label medications currently used to treat lupus. The Expert Panel meeting concluded with agreement on several key outcomes. Among them was the request and agreement that LFA lead a collaboration with industry representatives to share and mine data gathered from past studies to determine possible trends in drug development, and to use the collective lessons to better construct future studies of new lupus treatments. Other results of the meeting will be released in a report to be issued later this summer. The report will summarize discussions from the Expert Panel meeting and outline strategies to begin a new era in healthcare for all people with lupus. The report will include a research agenda specific to advancing the development and approval of new, safe, effective, and tolerable treatments for the disease. People with lupus and the physicians who care for them are sure to benefit from the collaboration of this interdisciplinary group of experts to bring down the barriers to lupus drug development. In related news, data from studies of two potential lupus drugs will be released later this year. While the results of these trials hold great promise, at this time the outcomes cannot be predicted. Therefore, the work that is being done collectively in the scientific community, government, and industry will be needed to ensure an improved quality of life for the estimated 1.5 million Americans and at least five million individuals worldwide living with lupus. About Lupus Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that is the result of an unbalanced immune system which can become destructive to any major organ or tissue in the body. Lupus is unpredictable and potentially fatal, yet no satisfactory treatment or cure exists. Its health consequences may include heart attacks, strokes, seizures, or sudden organ failure. Lupus Foundation of America


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