New prostate cancer drugs bring cost of care into spotlight

Meanwhile, results from a three-decade Swedish study found that women who have mammograms have a lower death rate from breast cancer — a finding that some say may ease recent controversies around the screening procedure.

The New York Times: New Drugs Fight Prostate Cancer, But At High Cost
A group of new drugs is promising to prolong the lives and relieve the symptoms of men with advanced prostate cancer, but could also add billions of dollars to the nation's medical bills. In the last 15 months, three new drugs that extended the lives of prostate cancer patients in clinical trials have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and several other promising medicines are in clinical trials. Before last year, only one drug had been shown to improve survival — docetaxel, which was approved in 2004 (Pollack, 6/27).

Los Angeles Times: Study Finds Mammograms Reduce Cancer Deaths
The longest study yet to examine women who undergo mammography shows that it reduces deaths from breast cancer by at least 30 percent, a finding that many doctors say may help ease the recent controversy surrounding the procedure. The three-decade study in Sweden showed that one breast cancer death can be prevented for every 414 to 519 women who are screened, a much lower number than the 1,000 to 1,500 that had been projected in previous studies (Maugh, 6/28).