Author: areifschneider

Last week we commented on the data from the Nurses’ Health Study II showing that bike riding could reduce weight gain in premenopausal women. This is just one of many strategies available to women to increase exercise or physical activity, control their weight, and reduce their risk of breast cancer. Why do we focus on physical […]

A detailed analysis of some 1397 children with cancer between ages 0 and 4 evaluated the exposure of mothers to cell phone towers based on residence at birth of the child (see study). These children with cancer were compared to 5588 children born on the same day who were free from cancer. This detailed study […]

This week the New York Times (editorial) again points to the realization that after 10 years of extensive research that has advanced scientific understanding of human genetics we are still a long way off from quantifiable clinical benefits. Importantly, the value of a family history in clinical practice has received much attention from NIH consensus […]

New data from long term follow-up of women participating in the STAR trial, a study comparing Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (known as SERMS) for prevention of breast cancer, show strong and persisting benefits of reduced breast cancer risk after stopping therapy (see abstract). This is an important addition to our understanding. Based on follow-up of 18,747 women […]

The Times today reports that the genome (http://nyti.ms/9CqHdl) has deepened understanding of human genetics and opened up the potential for new approaches to treatment of disease. The potential pay off has not yet arrived, however. As the Times story notes, a family history of disease provides a good summary of risk, and also identifies those […]

New data reported this week in the New England Journal of Medicine show a reduction in incidence of myocardial infarction and improved survival after heart attack (Yeh, et al). This population based study from Kaiser Permanente in Northern California highlights the relatively rapid effect that improvements in the managing of risk factors can have on cardiovascular disease. […]

Related post: Putting “weekday veg” into practice A lot of us tend to have an all or nothing approach to life, but oftentimes charting a course down the middle can have a lot to offer as well.  In fact, the goal of most public health efforts are modest changes that when spread out over the […]

  Coverage of the President’s Cancer Panel report this week draws attention to environmental contaminants as a potential cause of cancer (report). While this is an area of much public interest and certainly an important part of comprehensive health policy, it is a strange focus for a report that is meant to influence the nation’s […]

Soy foods have been studied a great deal for their potential protection against a range of chronic conditions, including breast and prostate cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and menopausal symptoms. It’s not known exactly how a diet rich in soy results in such benefits. It could be due to some of the individual components of soy, […]

As reported in the New York Times, San Francisco has launched an important public health campaign to promote vaccination against the hepatitis B virus which causes liver disease and liver cancer (story). This campaign is important for several reasons. Infection is usually silent and the impact on disease is many years after initial infection. Prevention […]

At the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), I presented a review of evidence relating childhood and adolescent exposures to lifetime cancer risk (see slides from presentation here http://bit.ly/d2SY2s). One of many “meet the expert” sessions, this offered an opportunity for those in the audience to hear a synthesis of evidence […]

A new study in this month’s Archives of Dermatology suggests that indoor tanning can be addicting in young adults (study) (1).  While the study was relatively small, with just over 400 participants surveyed, the results seem to bolster the need for moves toward greater regulation of the indoor tanning industry, especially through policies that curtail […]

In Sunday’s New York Times (story), Robert Pear wrote about the many disease prevention initiatives contained in the new health care law recently passed by congress and signed by the president. It’s important to stop and consider the full implications of this.    Importantly, Medicaid will now cover drugs and counseling to help pregnant women […]

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 […]

We know from studies of leukemia and some other cancers that people who were exposed to certain factors (such as to radiation) while in the womb (in utero) can have a greater risk of cancer as children and adults. More recently, interest has shifted from large one-time exposures to carcinogens (such as to atomic bomb […]

A recent study in the British Medical Journal adds further evidence that use of oral contraceptives reduces cancer mortality (full study). In the long term study of over 46,000 women who were followed for up to 39 years, Hannaford and colleagues reported that women who used oral contraceptives (OCs)  had lower mortality from cancers of […]

A new study of adolescent diet and subsequent risk of precursor lesions for breast cancer shows that women who had higher intake of fiber earlier in life have lower cancer risk. Data from the Nurses’ Health Study show that women in the highest quintile of adolescent fiber intake had a 25% lower risk of proliferative […]