Keep abreast of what your patients are currently seeing in the media with our round-up of popular news stories, available from WHF as abstracts with links to the full-text articles.

From the week of July 7, 2008:

Costly Cancer Drug Offers Hope, but Also a Dilemma

Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, has been hailed by some as wonder drug for its ability to cut off the blood supply to a tumor. It is one of the most popular cancer drugs in the world, and is currently approved in the US for use in patients with advanced lung, colon, and breast cancer. However, studies show that Avastin only prolongs life by a few months on average, and is associated with some serious side effects. Moreover, Avastin has been shown not to work well on its own, so patients are still forced to undergo chemotherapy. Another drawback to Avastin is its price, which can reach $100,000 per year. On the pro side are the patients who report an improved quality of life. Some patients report a greater sense of well-being, along with an ability to carry out daily tasks without exhaustion. Experts are now debating whether using Avastin is worth taking. Some point to the expense of the drug and the limited length of life it adds in studies, and believe that Avastin should not be used. Others cite examples of patients taking Avastin that have far exceeded initial predictions of survival time. Genentech, the company that makes Avastin, reports that about 100,000 Americans take the drug. It is currently being tested for about 30 different types of cancer through roughly 450 clinical trials, as well as being tested for use in patients with earlier stages of breast, lung, and colon cancer.

Read the full story on nytimes.com

Keep a Food Diary, Lose Twice as Much Weight

Dieters trying to shed pounds may double their weight loss by keeping track of what they eat in a food diary. According to a study that followed 1700 men and women with an average weight of 212 pounds, recording all food intake makes a significant difference in the amount of weight lost. Dieters involved in the study attended weekly meetings and were instructed to reduce their calorie intake by 500 calories a day, engage in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day, and to follow a low-fat, low-sodium diet with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods. After 20 weeks, the dieters who had not kept any records of their food intake had lost an average of 9 pounds, while, the dieters who logged 6 or more food diaries per week lost on average about 18 pounds. Researchers attribute the difference in weight loss between the two groups to the written proof that a food diary provides of what is being put into the body each day. Those who recorded what they ate each day felt more accountable for their intake. They also had an easier time figuring out how to cut calories from their diet, and could see the link between the food they ate and their weight. For those keeping a food diary, it is recommended to record intake directly after each meal, rather than reconstructing a day’s worth of meals in the evening.

Read the full story on healthday.com

Abuses Are Found in Online Sales of Medication

There are currently 365 known Internet sites that advertise or sell controlled medications to consumers by mail, and authorities have found that the majority of these sites are dispensing drugs without a proper prescription. Popular online drugs include generic versions of OxyContin, methadone, Vicodin, Xanax, Valium, and Ritalin. While only 11% of prescriptions filled at regular pharmacies are for controlled drugs, 85% of online prescription sales involve controlled drugs, indicating that Internet orders are being abused. Prescription drug abuse is rising, especially among college students, and there has been a growing number of fatal overdoses in recent years resulting from misuse of prescription drugs. It appears that the Internet is one of the sources used to obtain prescription drugs for recreational use. Although dispensing drugs to consumers who do not have a written prescription from their doctor is illegal in the US, Internet companies elude detection by shipping the drugs from foreign countries, and using disguised packages. Another product on the online market is a written prescription for drugs that can be ordered online and taken to a regular pharmacy to be filled. There is currently a bill in committee in the House of Representatives that would require all online pharmacies to be certified and to bar physicians from writing a prescription for controlled drugs without seeing their patient.

Read the full story on nytimes.com

Breast-Conserving Surgery Leaves Many Cancer Patients Disappointed

Breast cancer patients are often given more than one treatment option to choose from, with mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery being two of the major surgical options. Many women opt for a breast-conserving surgery, in which just the tumor and surrounding tissue are removed, believing that the surgery will leave them less disfigured than a mastectomy, which removes the entire breast. However, one-third of women who underwent breast-conserving surgery report that there is an asymmetry between their breasts that negatively affects their quality of life. Symptoms of depression and fear of cancer recurrence are twice as likely to be experienced by women whose two breasts look noticeably different after surgery than by women whose breasts remain similar in appearance. Women should takes these statistics into consideration when choosing which surgical treatment is the best option, and physicians should counsel their patients accordingly.

Read the full story on healthday.com