Health News Update

Racial Disparities Persist in Diagnosis of Advanced Breast, Colon Cancer:  The incidence of advanced breast cancer diagnosis among black women remained 30 percent to 90 percent higher compared to white women between 1992 and 2004, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In addition, the disparity in the incidence of advanced colorectal cancer actually widened over this time period as rates fell among whites but increased slightly among blacks.  The findings are published online in the inaugural issue of Springer’s journal Hormones and Cancer, a publication of the Endocrine Society.

New Precautions for Asthma Medications: The Food and Drug Administration says it plans to impose new “safety controls” over three asthma drugs warning that they should be for the shortest time possible to obtain asthma control and then discontinued. (FDA announcement and FAQs from the agency).  The drugs are so-called long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) that are used by about six million asthma patients. The FDA said single-agent LABAs should be taken along with other inhaled drugs called corticosteroids. Commonly used LABAs include Serevent, Advair (both GlaxoSmithKline), and Foradil (Novartis), and, Symbicort (AstraZeneca).

Avandia Contributes to Heart Attacks and Problems: Hundreds of people taking Avandia, a controversial diabetes medicine, needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month, according to confidential government reports that recommend the drug be removed from the market.  The reports, obtained by The New York Times, say that if every diabetic now taking Avandia were instead given a similar pill named Actos, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure would be averted every month because Avandia can hurt the heart. Avandia, intended to treat Type 2 diabetes, is known as rosiglitazone and was linked to 304 deaths during the third quarter of 2009.

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