by Hank Dart We’ve written a great deal in CNiC over the years on the dangers of indoor tanning, with one primary theme being the allure it has to young people, especially teenage girls.  It even seems to border on an addiction of sorts, as some research suggests. With UV exposure in youth and young […]

Creative Commons photo: Flickr/CatDancing (cropped) We’ve written a lot recently about the importance of breast cancer prevention starting early in life, both here on Cancer News in Context and in a guest post on the American Association for Cancer Research blog, Cancer Research Catalyst.  Though most breast cancer research focusses on women in midlife and […]

Photo: Flickr/Tim RT It’s been a big week in the news for alcohol and health. Three separate studies were released that helped shed light on a key issue we often discuss here at Cancer News in Context: the important impact that drinking has on cancer risk – particularly when started early in life. The first […]

Hot off the presses this morning are two important health-related releases from the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Cochrane Library. From the USPSTF are updated recommendations that highlight effective approaches that primary care providers can use to prevent tobacco use in youth.  Because 90 percent of regular adult smokers begin smoking when they […]

In what can only be viewed as a positive in the fight against tobacco, a new federal report finds that images of smoking in youth-oriented movies have plummeted since 2005.  In movies rated G and PG, the rate of tobacco “incidents” (as the report calls them) fell by over 90 percent (see figure).  Even in […]

A new study published online last week in the British Medical Journal on tanning bed use by youth in the United Kingdom has raised concerns well beyond its shores (full study) (1).     The study surveyed over 9,000 children aged 11 -17 in England, Wales, and Scotland and found that 6 percent of those […]

PECaD would like to remember and celebrate the life of Leon E. Ashford, PhD, a prostate cancer survivor and longtime member of the Disparities Elimination Advisory Committee, the Prostate Cancer Community Partnership, and the Prostate Cancer Coalition, who passed away in March at the age of 90. Dr. Ashford was a fierce champion of prostate […]

Recently released numbers from a national survey show that many high school-aged youth in the United States put themselves at risk for lifelong addiction by using tobacco or electronic cigarettes. The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System report found that 16 percent of girls and 24 percent of boys had vaped, used smokeless tobacco, or […]

A new federal analysis shows that the adult obesity epidemic in the United States keeps on getting worse.  Between 2007 and 2016, the percentage of the adult population that was obese increased from an already very high 33.7 percent to a staggering 39.6 percent.  And the rate of those severely obese increased from just under […]

As we’ve written about before on Cancer News in Context, good evidence points to the important role that behaviors in youth and young adulthood can have on cancer risk later in life. Health habits started in youth not only have a longer time to impact risk, but they can also have unique and important interactions with the […]

In a little under a month in New York state, electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) will be banned wherever standard tobacco cigarettes are prohibited. The move adds to a growing list of states restricting e-cig use because of concerns about their impact on health and safety. Although e-cigs are often marketed as safer alternatives to standard cigarettes […]

For a topic that always gets a lot of news coverage, health and healthcare has been in the media even more than usual since the 2016 election. While it’s unclear exactly where the current debates on Obamacare and the American Health Care Act will lead, a Sounding Board article in today’s New England Journal of […]

Only two doses now needed for most youth, instead of three By Katy Henke HPV, or human papillomavirus, is an increasingly popular health topic these days. Not only are there news stories about HPV and the HPV vaccine just about every week, but there’s a push across nearly all levels of healthcare — from federal […]

It’s not news that parents can sometimes have blinders on when it comes to their kids. It’s only natural that we look for all the positives in our children and downplay any possible negatives. And this is just what seems to be happening with parents and the loaded issue of their child’s weight.  Parents of […]

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) reported today in the journal, JAMA, that there is not enough evidence to recommend that adults get screened for skin cancer. Though some professional medical organizations recommend physician-performed visual checks for skin cancer — and many physicians carry them out — the USPSTF found no solid evidence that […]

by Hank Dart The course of the obesity epidemic in the United States has been so bad for so many years that even minor victories have been cause for celebration. But despite some bright spots in the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on national rates of obesity (on adults, on youth), […]

Since January of 2000, our website, Your Disease Risk, has reached millions of visitors with personalized risk estimates and prevention messages for the most important preventable chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and others. Based on feedback from both health professionals and the public, much of the appeal of the the Your Disease Risk […]

by Hank Dart Though coverage of the Iowa caucuses has eclipsed most other media stories this week, there was still some important health news Monday about a large study finding that a high-fiber diet early in life may lower the risk of later adult breast cancer. The study, part of the long-running Nurses’ Health Study II, […]

by Hank Dart In a paper published yesterday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Cancer News in Context’s Graham Colditz and Washington University researcher, Kelle Moley, detail the important role that overweight and obesity play in the development of breast cancer. Looking at wide-ranging evidence at all periods of life — from gestation to the […]

It’s been another big year of cancer prevention news, and it started with a real splash way back in January with a headline-grabbing study in Science attributing most cases of cancer to simple “bad luck.” Not surprisingly, we disagreed with that conclusion, and our post responding to the study – and the stories it generated […]

by Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH Obesity is an established cause of postmenopausal breast cancer, with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimating that approximately 10 percent of postmenopausal breast cancer is due to excess weight (1). Overweight and obesity also increase the risk of mortality after diagnosis. One large analysis combining data from […]

It’s day three in our nine day series highlighting key steps and practical tips that can help women lower their risk of breast cancer. Previous days. _ _ _ _ Day 3 – Avoid Too Much Alcohol Alcohol can be good for the heart, but when it comes to cancer, there is, unfortunately, nothing really […]

by Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH Article originally appeared in the Washington University – Institute for Public Health Blog When it comes to cancer, there are few topics as supercharged as diet. A quick search of “diet and cancer” in Google News alone returns over 3 million stories. And yet, however large these numbers are, they […]

Cancer News in Context’s Graham Colditz is being honored tonight at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as an AACR 2014-2015 Scientific Awardee. In the announcement of his 2014 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Prevention, AACR describes the honor and Colditz’s contributions to the field: The award is given […]

Creative Commons photo (cropped): Flickr/zingersbs by Hank Dart A new study released last week in the journal Human Reproduction has found that regularly drinking sugar-sweetened beverages – like sodas and fruit drinks – may cause girls to start their menstrual periods at earlier ages.   The study, a spin off of the long-running Nurses’ Health […]

Photo: Flickr/whatshername, Creative Commons Lic. There was a nice piece in the New York Times this weekend on the risks of indoor tanning, particularly in youth. Focussing on the personal experiences of a handful of young women and their  parents, it does a very good job highlighting the well-established risks of skin cancer and deadly melanoma, the […]

Amidst the crush of year-end top ten lists filling your news feeds this week, we present our own: the top posts of 2014 from Cancer News in Context. Covering topics from aspirin to healthy eating to the importance of starting healthy behaviors in childhood, these posts show the prominent place that cancer prevention has had […]

Photo: Flickr/whatshername A new study out this week further confirms the dangers of indoor tanning, finding that use of tanning beds and other UV tanning devices is strongly linked to developing skin cancer early in life. Published early online in the medical journal Pediatrics, the study compared the history of indoor tanning in a group […]

Photo: Flickr/DanielGo This post seems a bit cruel, coming out as it does during the current TV season’s finale week and the beginning of the World Cup.  But, science doesn’t rest – not even for Game of Thrones or the Brazilian national soccer team. So, neither do we. Just released on the Journal of the […]

Adding to the growing benefits linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that protects against cervical cancer, is a new study providing solid evidence that the vaccine will also likely help protect youth and young adults from developing throat cancers later in life. The study appeared in the journal PLoS One and was also written up in today’s New […]

A little while back we developed a brief card focusing on the importance of early life exposures in determining breast cancer risk.  With this week marked by a new NIH report pushing for greater emphasis on breast cancer prevention (report) and the launch of our newest 8 Ways brochure, 8IGHT WAYS to Prevent Breast Cancer […]

A recent article in MedPage Today highlighted the birth of a new tanning salon industry-sponsored group that has the sole intent of refuting well-established and peer-reviewed science showing the dangers of tanning bed use. The new group – the American Suntanning Association (ASA) – which, intentionally or not, seemed to receive cozy treatment in the article, has […]

The American Heart Association (AHA) just released its top 10 list of research accomplishments for 2012.  Most are quite heart-specific (unsurprisingly), but two of the ten highlight something we’ve often highlighted on this blog and in our risk assessment app and websites: that major chronic diseases share many of the same risk factors. “6. Why […]

A report last month in the American Cancer Society’s journal CA detailed the rates of cancer-related risk factors in US Hispanics/Latinos (report), and one of the parts of the report that stood out to us were the rates of certain behaviors in adolescents that could have implications for cancer risk later in life. As we’ve […]

“Breast cancer” and “youth” are two terms not often linked together.  But there’s a growing body of evidence showing that certain factors early in life – like diet, activity, and weight – can have an important impact on a woman’s breast cancer risk later in life.  To help parents guide their daughters toward optimal breast health […]

As we complete April, colon cancer awareness month, the topic of strategies to improve our population risk profile and reduce the cancer burden in our families, our workplaces, our communities and our state, I am reminded of many times we have written and talked on this topic. We have written on physical activity and colon […]

John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, made the point at last week’s meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative that tobacco control should remain the highest priority in combatting chronic disease.  It’s a point we’ve certainly echoed on this blog – that efforts to curb tobacco use shouldn’t be relegated to the second tier […]

With spring in the air and the long sunny days of summer not too far off, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released a new policy statement on the hazards of UV radiation exposure in children and adolescents.  The statement, published in the journal Pediatrics (link), refreshes and reinforces what many of us know – […]

News came out this week that Lance Armstrong will team up with a new partner – the California Cancer Research Act. The Act proposes increasing the state’s tobacco tax by $1 and funneling that money toward cancer research. California is facing a budget crisis and may be cutting huge (billions) sums of money from health […]

We’ve dedicated a number of posts over the past year on the policy and health pitfalls of indoor tanning – from the potential benefits of the “tanning tax” (post) to surprisingly high rates of tanning by some youth (post).  Now comes a fascinating, if not perfectly surprising, little analysis on the influence parents can have […]

As noted in the NCI Cancer Bulletin this week (see related story), Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Howard Koh, describes the new tobacco control strategy released this month as four pillars of strategic action. These high impact approaches are known to work. Change social norms around tobacco use Improve the public’s health […]

This week marks one of my favorite times of the year – the US Open. The New York Times had a couple of articles this week that got me thinking about how competition can fuel (or harm) health. The first was a great photojournalism article in the Sunday Magazine about how much harder the women […]

Yesterday in the New York Times, Jane Brody reminded us of the importance of cancer prevention when focusing on tobacco, the leading cause of cancer in the US and the world. This preventable cause of cancer continues to be marketed, but how do we quantify the prevention efforts that range from international agreements to counter […]

In the movie WALL– E, the human race has become so dependent on energy-saving devices that they’ve devolved over the course of 700 years into large infant-like beings that can only get around on futuristic wheel chairs. The director of the film has denied that this was targeted social commentary, just a way to develop […]