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In a case-control study, patients with prostate cancer and matched controls were asked to recall whether they experienced male-pattern baldness by 20, 30, or 40 years of age. Prostate cancer patients were twice as likely to have alopecia at age 20 than controls. Early-age alopecia was not associated with early diagnosis of prostate cancer or with markers of disease aggressiveness. Thus, men with male-pattern baldness at age 20 may be at higher risk for the development of prostate cancer and perhaps more aggressive screening or other disease preventing interventions might prove beneficial for this population.
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In a multicenter randomized (not blinded) Phase 3 study of erlotinib vs chemotherapy for EGFR-mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), progression-free survival was both significantly greater and toxicity less for patients treated with erlotinib. The findings suggest that erlotinib should be considered first-line therapy for patients with advanced EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC.
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ACEI/ARB therapy for AS; safety alert issued for dronedarone; statins and cancer risk; nesiritide and heart failure; and FDA actions.
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Are you implementing guidance from the US Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, 2010, (US MEC) released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)?
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At the federal and state levels, cutting government spending has led the political agenda in 2011, and conservative policymakers have specifically targeted Medicaid.
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While vasectomy is a safe, simple, effective form of contraception, female sterilization is the preferred method of sterilization among couples in the United States. About 17% of women between ages 15-44 have had tubal sterilizations, while only 6% rely on male sterilization for birth control.
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If you haven't included expedited partner therapy (EPT) in your practice of treating patients with gonorrhea and chlamydia, more support for the measure has arrived in the form of a new committee opinion from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
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Results from a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that teen vaccination rates for human papillomavirus (HPV) remain low in comparison with other vaccines administered to young adults.
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Results from an analysis presented at the recent 2011 International AIDS Society conference in Rome suggest that using certain methods of hormonal contraception particularly injectable contraception might double the risk of HIV acquisition in a previously uninfected woman and also might double the risk that an HIV- infected woman will transmit HIV to a previously uninfected male sexual partner.
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In a commentary on preterm birth (PTB) in the april issue of OB/GYN Clinical Alert, I mentioned that data are on the horizon that would support the use of vaginal progesterone to reduce the risk of PTB in patients with short cervices. Well, the study has now been published, and the results may change how PTB is approached.
