Epidemiology News and Research

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Radiation therapy following lumpectomy may benefit older, early-stage breast cancer patients

For the majority of older, early-stage breast cancer patients, radiation therapy following breast conserving surgery may help prevent the need for a later mastectomy, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Aug 2012

Radiation after lumpectomy helps prevent need for subsequent mastectomy in older women with early stage breast cancer

Contrary to clinical recommendations, older women with early stage breast cancer may want to undergo radiation after lumpectomy to help ensure that they will not need a mastectomy in the future. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The findings indicate that current thinking on the risks and benefits of radiation for early stage breast cancer in older women may be inaccurate.

13 Aug 2012

West Virginia University ICRC receives CDC grant to continue injury prevention research

The West Virginia University Injury Control Research Center (ICRC) has just been awarded a five-year grant totaling $4.1 million to continue as one of 11 such federally funded centers of excellence for injury prevention research, education and outreach in the nation, according to the funding agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

12 Aug 2012

Daily aspirin use may reduce overall cancer mortality

Daily aspirin usage is associated with lower overall cancer mortality, but the association may be smaller than what was previously believed, according to a study published August 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Aug 2012

Anemia prevention in pregnancy: an interview with Juan Pablo Peña-Rosas, WHO

Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells in the body is lower than normal or these have lower amounts of haemoglobin, a protein that is involved in the oxygen exchange of the body.

10 Aug 2012

Early junk food habit may impact IQ

Children who eat a healthy diet before the age of 2 years are more likely to have a higher IQ at age 8 years than those who eat a less healthy diet, show results published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

9 Aug 2012

Increases in NSCLC survival 'an artefact of PET assessment'

There has been no increase in survival among non-small-cell lung cancer patients in recent years, with evidence suggesting otherwise likely due to positron emission tomography-induced stage migration and selection bias, say US scientists.

8 Aug 2012

Greening vacant lots may reduce violent crime

Greening vacant lots may make neighborhood residents feel safer and may be associated with reductions in certain gun crimes, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

8 Aug 2012

Study compares mortality rates among RA patients treated with individual TNF inhibitors

New research confirms no significant difference in the rates of death among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were exposed to one of several TNF inhibitors used to treat RA, adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel), and infliximab (Remicade).

8 Aug 2012

Healthy diets may increase children’s IQ

Children fed healthy diets in early age may have a slightly higher IQ, while those on heavier junk food diets may have a slightly reduced IQ, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.

8 Aug 2012

Study examines life expectancy by race, sex and education

Despite advances in health care and increases in life expectancy overall, Americans with less than a high school education have life expectancies similar to adults in the 1950s and 1960s.

7 Aug 2012

Children of U.S.-born Latina women more likely to develop retinoblastoma

In a large epidemiologic study, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center found that the children of U.S.-born Latina women are at higher risk of having retinoblastoma, a malignant tumor of the retina which typically occurs in children under six.

7 Aug 2012

Workers with disabilities more likely to experience injuries

A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University compared medically attended noncccupational and occupational injuries among U.S. workers with and without disabilities.

7 Aug 2012

Commercial cattle vaccine can effectively reduce levels of E. coli by more than 50%

A commercial vaccine for cattle can effectively reduce levels of E. coli by more than 50 percent, a Kansas State University study has found. The vaccine is also effective using two doses instead of the recommended three doses, which can help cut costs for the beef industry.

7 Aug 2012

Diagnostic imaging in stage IV cancer on the rise

Diagnostic imaging in elderly patients with stage IV cancer has increased significantly in recent years, while its use among those with early-stage disease has decreased, suggest study findings.

6 Aug 2012

Head trauma in older adults over a weekend more deadly than during the week

A Johns Hopkins review of more than 38,000 patient records finds that older adults who sustain substantial head trauma over a weekend are significantly more likely to die from their injuries than those similarly hurt and hospitalized Monday through Friday, even if their injuries are less severe and they have fewer other illnesses than their weekday counterparts.

6 Aug 2012

Allergies may reduce risk of brain cancer

New research adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that there's a link between allergies and reduced risk of a serious type of cancer that starts in the brain. This study suggests the reduced risk is stronger among women than men, although men with certain allergy profiles also have a lower tumor risk.

3 Aug 2012

Giving antibiotics just before cesarean section prevents infections

Giving antibiotics before cesarean section surgery rather than just after the newborn's umbilical cord is clamped cuts the infection rate at the surgical site in half, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

3 Aug 2012

HSF1 increases expression of chaperones and supports cancer metastasis

Whitehead Institute researchers have found that increased expression of a specific set of genes is strongly associated with metastasis and death in patients with breast, colon, and lung cancers.

3 Aug 2012

Alcohol decreases turnover of bone in post-menopausal women

Women after menopause tend to develop weaker bones from what is known as osteoporosis, which may lead to fractures (especially hip fractures) from falling. The weakness of the bones results from an imbalance between the normal resorption (a type of dissolving of old bone) and the laying down of new bone, an ongoing process for both men and women referred to as "bone turnover."

3 Aug 2012