Our weekly roundup of the latest developments in the world of health. This week brought encouraging news about a bird flu vaccine, disappointing news about a high-fiber diet and colon cancer, and good news about oral contraceptive use for women with lupus. The week also brought news of changes in chemotherapy for breast cancer patients and possible protection from ovarian cancer for tea drinkers.
Stay well.
This Issue:
Bird Flu Vaccine Fiber and Colorectal Cancer Oral Contraceptives and Lupus New Breast Cancer-Chemo Recommendations Tea and Ovarian Cancer In the News:
Bird Flu Vaccine An experimental vaccine is showing promise at fighting the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. Researchers at French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Pasteur say they have made progress toward developing a vaccine against the disease, which has been identified as the possible source of the world's next flu pandemic. The researchers have found that adding alum to the vaccine formula appears to increase the potency of lower doses of flu antigen; this means the limited supplies of antigen could be stretched further, giving more people access to the vaccine, The Associated Press reports. In a test involving 300 people, the researchers found that with added alum, the vaccine could provoke an immune response with two injections containing 30 micrograms of antigen apiece. Previous formulations required two injections of 90 micrograms each, the AP says. The fact that the experimental vaccine can provoke an immune response does not necessarily mean it will prevent infection, but it is the first step, the AP says.
Fiber and Colorectal Cancer
A high-fiber diet does not protect you from colorectal cancer. That's the latest word on dietary fiber and cancer risk, according to a study published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association. The study looked at 13 years' worth of previous research involving more than 725,000 people. After taking into consideration other factors that affect colorectal cancer risk -- such as multivitamin use, folate intake, milk and red meat consumption, and alcohol use -- the researchers found no protective effect against colon or rectal cancer from a fiber-rich diet. The researchers caution that more study is needed on the matter. They add that even if dietary fiber doesn't protect against this type of cancer, it still has many other health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes, The New York Times News Service reports.
Oral Contraceptives and Lupus
Women with lupus can safely take oral contraceptives. Doctors had previously believed that the estrogen in birth control pills could trigger flare-ups of lupus. But two studies published in the
New England Journal of Medicine find that this is not the case. The first study looked at 183 women with lupus at 14 sites in the United States. About half the women took estrogen-progestin birth control pills, while the others took a placebo pill. All the women used a barrier method of contraception as well. Over the course of a year, seven women in each group had a severe lupus flare-up, and there were 1.4 mild or moderate flare-ups in each group during the same period. The second study, by Mexican researchers, involved 162 lupus patients who were given either estrogen-progestin pills, progestin-only pills, or an intrauterine device. There was no difference among the three groups in terms of flare-ups, symptoms or side effects, The Associated Press reports. The AP quotes other experts who say more study is needed involving women with moderate to severe disease, but that doctors should feel more comfortable prescribing oral contraceptives to women with the autoimmune disease.
New Breast Cancer-Chemo Recommendations
Fewer breast cancer patients will need chemotherapy. New guidelines released earlier this week recommend choosing breast cancer treatment based on what type of tumor each women has -- specifically, based on whether the tumor's growth is fueled by the hormone estrogen or progesterone. The new recommendations, developed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network in cooperation with the American Cancer Society, will likely translate into far fewer women needing chemotherapy for breast cancer, The Associated Press reports. New insights into the different forms of breast cancer and new types of testing mean doctors can now better identify which women will benefit from chemo and which will be better treated with hormone blockers, the AP says. After determining a woman's hormone status, the new guidelines call for checking her HER-2 status; cancers in which there is too much of the HER-2 protein on the cells' surfaces can be treated with an even more targeted medication, Herceptin. However, the AP quotes doctors who warn that relying on high-tech tests to identify types of breast cancer carries its own risk if the tests are not performed or interpreted correctly.
Tea and Ovarian Cancer
A few cups of tea every day may lower the risk of ovarian cancer. That's the finding of a Swedish study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In the study, researchers looked at more than 61,000 women. The women answered questions about their dietary habits and were tracked for 15 years. The researchers found that the women who reported drinking two or more cups of tea per were 46% less likely to develop ovarian cancer compared to women who never drank tea. Women who drank less than two cups of tea also saw a benefit, although it was not as great, The Associated Press reports. Tea type was not specified, but most of the subjects reported drinking black tea. The researchers say more study is needed; the AP quotes other experts who point out that there could be factors other than tea itself that affected the women's ovarian cancer risk. For example, tea drinkers could have had healthier lifestyles than the other women.
Used with the permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. The above summaries are not intended to provide advice on personal medical matters, nor are they intended to be a substitute for consultation with a physician.
