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Increase In Thyroid Cancer Not Explained By Screening Alone
Studies have reported an increasing incidence of thyroid cancer since 1980. One possible explanation for this trend is increased detection through more widespread and aggressive use of screening tests. Researchers at the American Cancer Society analyzed thyroid cancer incidence between 1988 and 2005 using the National Cancer Institute"s (NCI"s) Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) dataset.

Study Shows Teen Contraception Use Declining, Level Of Sexual Activity Unchanged
After years of declining teenage pregnancy rates and improved teen contraception use during the 1990s and early 2000s, the trends appeared to have flattened or even reversed among some groups of teens in recent years, according to a study from Columbia University"s Mailman School of Public Health and the Guttmacher Institute, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Researchers found that from 2003 to 2007, teens" contraceptive use declined by 10%, while their level of sexual activity did not change. The decrease in contraceptive use was particularly prevalent among black teens. The figures take into account the rate of contraception use as well as the types of contraceptives used, as methods vary in effectiveness. Teen condom use leveled off and in some cases declined, according to the study. The study also reported that the teen birth rate increased by 5% from 2005 to 2007. According to the study"s authors, the findings suggest a link between declining teen contraception use and the rise in abstinence-only education during former President George W. Bush"s administration. President Obama"s fiscal year 2010 budget proposal calls for redirecting some abstinence-only funds toward increased comprehensive sex education, the Monitor reports. In addition to the effects of abstinence-only sex education, the decline in condom use also could be tied to lessening concern about sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. A shift in the teen population to include a higher number of Hispanics -- who have the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth -- also could contribute to the findings. Laura Lindberg, one of the study"s authors and a senior research associate at Guttmacher, said, "In the end, this story is really about the loss of momentum." She added that although the statistical changes are small, "they raise concern about what the next few years will bring in this country." Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, noted that the proportion of births to unmarried women, particularly among women ages 20 to 24, also is on the upswing (Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor, 6/18).
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Indiana University School Of Medicine Researchers Develop Promising New Cancer Diagnostic Marker
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have developed a new breast cancer diagnostic marker that could enable physicians to more easily determine which patients have a less aggressive form of the disease that may not require chemotherapy treatment.
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Pakistani Refugees Continue To Be At High Risk For Disease, U.N. Says

The 2 million Pakistani refugees forced from their homes due to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley continue to be at high risk for diseases "as they cope with damaged water and sewage systems in towns and villages," according to the U.N., Bloomberg reports. "Displaced people are threatened with diarrhea, measles and respiratory infections as a result of the strain on the health service, [Eric] Laroche, [assistant director-general of the Health Action in Crises Cluster of the WHO], said. So far, the WHO"s early warning system has managed to identify and control more than 30 potential communicable disease outbreaks, he said," Bloomberg writes (Tighe/Qayum, 7/3). In an article that examines what the toll of the impending monsoon season might mean for the Pakistani refugees, VOA News reports a shortage in funds may limit how much the WHO can control the spread of disease. "Laroche said the WHO has only received $2 million of its $10 million appeal for essential drugs," VOA News writes (Schlein, 7/2). Bloomberg writes, ""A displacement crisis the government said would last only for weeks looks set to go on for months with no relief in sight," Sam Zarifi, Amnesty"s Asia-Pacific director, said in the statement. "To make matters worse, the vast majority of displaced people are living outside the registered camps where aid agencies" are distributing aid." Amnesty appealed for the government of Pakistan to do more to ensure aid reaches those most in need (7/3). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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