Task force releases new guidelines for cervical screening
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(CBS News) The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new cervical cancer screening guidelines today that recommend women ages 21 to 65 get a pap smear test every 3 years. For women under the age of 21, the task force does not recommend testing at all, even if they are sexually active.
Women ages 30 to 65 can prolong screening to every five years if they get a HPV test with it.
The guidelines, published online in the the March 14 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, also say that women under 30 should not be screened for HPV. Many benign infections that would go away on their own are found and could potentially cause more harm than good if caught, the task force said.
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Group claims hot dogs cause "butt cancer"
PCRM
The billboard is sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a non-profit nutrition advocacy group that focuses on diet as a way to prevent disease and reduce symptoms. Nutrition education director for PCRM, Susan Levin, told Healthpop that recent studies have helped highlight the importance of a healthy diet.
"The evidence is just overwhelming that processed meats do lead to colorectal cancer, or as the billboards say, butt cancer," she said.
Study: Red meat raises risk of dying, risk higher with processed meats
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Red meat every day raises risk of dying, study shows
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(CBS News) Eating a diet heavy in red meat has been tied to added risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It shouldn't be surprising then that a new study found eating red meat every day appears to increase a person's chances of dying from a chronic disease by 12 percent.
PICTURES: 10 Ways Meat Can Make You Sick
For the study, published online in the March 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, Harvard researchers analyzed data from two dietary studies that tracked nearly 37,700 men and 83,600 women for 28 years.
The researchers found overall that there were 23,900 deaths, including 5,900 from heart disease and nearly 9,500 from cancer. When the researchers looked closely at dietary habits, red meat took the cake when it came to raising death risk.
Continue »Circumcision tied to lower prostate cancer risk
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(CBS News) To circumcise or not to circumcise? New research suggests circumcision may protect against prostate cancer, adding a new reported benefit to the procedure. Circumcision can help prevent inflammation and infection, including sexually transmitted infections that may cause prostate cancer, the study found.
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For the study, researchers tested about 3,400 men and found that men who had been circumcised before their first sexual intercourse were 15 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer than uncircumcised men.
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Pepsi to change chemicals to avoid cancer warning
AP
(CBS/AP) PepsiCo Inc. announced it is changing the way it makes the caramel coloring used in its sodas, joining Coca-Cola Co. in a bid to prevent the companies' soda bottles from carrying cancer warning labels as a result of a California law.
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The companies said the changes will be expanded nationally to streamline their manufacturing processes and have already been made for drinks sold in California.
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Genetic differences making cancer treatments tough
A woman receives cancer treatment
/ CBS(CBS/AP) BOSTON - Scientists are reporting what could be very bad news for efforts to customize cancer treatment based on each person's genes.
PICTURES: Got cancer? 10 secrets for better decisions
They have discovered big differences from place to place in the same tumor as to which genes are active or mutated. They also found differences in the genetics of the main tumor and places where the cancer has spread.
This means that the single biopsies that doctors rely on to choose drugs are probably not giving a true view of the cancer's biology. It also means that treating cancer won't be as simple as many had hoped.
New treatment for kidney transplant patients may reduce need for anti-rejection drugs
Surgeon General: Work needed to stop teen smoking
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(CBS/AP) Far too many teens smoke cigarettes, according to a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General, and more measures like increasing cigarette taxes and creating smoking bands are needed.
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Nearly one in five high school-aged teens smokes, a rate that's down from earlier decades but the rate of decline has slowed, the report showed.
Continue »Estrogen reduces breast cancer risk for some women
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(CBS/AP) Estrogen therapy, a type of hormone replacement therapy, has been linked to a greater risk for heart attack and breast cancer in women by previous research. A new study however shows women who take estrogen following menopause actually had a lower risk of breast cancer - even years after the study.
Estrogen pills: Are health risks overblown?
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The new research found women who had a hysterectomy who took estrogen-only pills for about six years were about 20 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who didn't take the hormone, and the benefit lasted for at least five years.
Continue »ACP: Colon cancer screening should start at 50
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(CBS News) A new guidance statement from the American College of Physicians states what a lot of American adults may already know: They should get screened for colon cancer once they get older to reduce their risk of dying from the nation's number two cancer killer.
PICTURES - 10 myths about colon cancer
"Only about 60 percent of American adults aged 50 and older get screened, even though the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening in reducing deaths is supported by the available evidence," Dr. Virginia L. Hood, president of American College of Physicians, said in a written statement.
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Lung cancer risk increases with diesel exhaust exposure
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(CBS/AP) Exposure to diesel exhaust increases risk for lung cancer, new evidence shows, and workers are especially at risk.
PICTURES - 10 worst jobs for your lungs
Diesel exhaust has long been thought to be a carcinogen. But the 20-year study from the National Cancer Institute took a closer look by tracking more than 12,000 workers in certain kinds of mines - facilities that mined for potash, lime and other nonmetals. They breathed levels of exhaust from diesel-powered equipment higher than the general population encounters.
Continue »Pap tests for cervical cancer boost cure chances
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(CBS News) Women are more likely to survive cervical cancer if it was diagnosed through a Pap smear test, according to a new study.
PICTURES: 5 medical tests that could save your life (and 5 to skip)
The study is the first to estimate the chances of surviving cervical cancer, according to the authors. For the study, Swedish researchers tracked 1230 women who were diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1999 to 2001. The researchers tracked the women for an average follow-up of 8.5 years, and found women whose cancers were found by the Pap test had a 92 percent cure rate, while women who were diagnosed because of their symptoms only had a 66 percent cure rate.
During the course of the study, 373 women died. Of those women, 75 percent were not screened for cervical cancer with a Pap test. The study is published in the March 1 issue of the British Medical Journal.
"Regular Pap screening does not just prevent cancer by looking for precursors, but it also increases the possibilities of cure if the cancer is detected during screening," study author Dr. Bengt Andrae, a cancer researcher at Uppsala University in Stockholm, told HealthDay. "We can say the benefit of Pap smear screening is real."
"Even if you have not gone to cervical screening before, go when you are invited because you have a much better prognosis than waiting for the symptoms to appear," Andrae told BBC News.
Nearly 12,200 American women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute. More than 4,200 women are expected to die from the disease in 2012. Symptoms of cervical cancer may include abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge, possibly after sex, according to the CDC.
How often should a woman get screened for cervical cancer? Recommendations vary.
According to American Cancer Society Guidelines, All women should begin cervical cancer screening about 3 years after they begin having sex, but no later than 21 years old. Screening should be done every year with the regular Pap test or every 2 years using the newer liquid-based Pap test, the society says. Beginning at age 30, women who have had 3 normal Pap test results in a row may get screened every 2 to 3 years. BBC News reported the Swedish cervical screening program invites women aged 23-50 to attend every three years and women aged 51-60 to get a Pap test every five years.
Last year, an advisory panel to the government, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommended against yearly Pap tests, saying they could do more harm than good, HealthPop reported. The panel said the more tests a person gets may result in unnecessary biopsies. Check with your doctor to find out more about cervical cancer screening.
The American Cancer Society has more on cervical cancer.
Gov't vows to fight for tobacco warning labels
FDA
(CBS/AP) The Food and Drug Administration wanted tobacco companies to add graphic warning labels to its cigarette packs by September 2012 to inform the public of smoking's dangers. On Wednesday, a judge blocked that requirement, saying the images - which included a sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a baby surrounded by smoke - violate free speech protected by the Constitution.
PICTURES: 27 cigarette warning labels nixed by the FDA
PICTURES: 55 gruesome tobacco warning labels
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had first temporarily blocked the requirement in November, saying it was likely cigarette makers will succeed in a lawsuit, which could take years to resolve. His latest decision is already being appealed by the government.
Judge blocks FDA's graphic tobacco warning labels
(AP) A judge on Wednesday blocked a federal requirement that would have begun forcing U.S. tobacco companies to put large graphic images on their cigarette packages later this year to show the dangers of smoking and encouraging smokers to quit lighting up.
PICTURES: 27 cigarette warning labels nixed by the FDA
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled that the federal mandate to put the images, which include a sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a picture of diseased lungs, on cigarette packs violate the free speech amendment to the Constitution.
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Mom passes stage IV cancer to baby: Report
CBS 5/KPHO
(CBS News) Cancer in babies is relatively rare, making Addison Cox's case particularly heartbreaking. But the Phoenix baby is battling an even more unusual condition- her cancer was passed on to her from her mother during pregnancy.
Addison's is only the ninth documented case since 2003 of a mother passing cancer to her baby and the first Phoenix Children's Hospital has ever seen, KPHO CBS 5 in Phoenix reported.
Colonoscopies cut colon cancer death risk in half
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(CBS/AP) Dread having a colonoscopy? A new study shows the colon exam cuts death risk from colon cancer in half. The study is the first to offer clear evidence that the exam, avoided by many who find it uncomfortable or embarrassing, is worth it.
PICTURES - 10 myths about colon cancer
The exam helps doctors spot precancerous growths, and removing those polyps significantly improves cancer survival, the study found.
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