Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Respiratory Infections Can Bring Breast Cancer Out Of Remission, Study Shows
Respiratory infections like COVID-19 and the flu can activate dormant cancer cells in breast cancer patients who are in remission, new research finds. The study, published in Nature, found that common viruses can reawaken small numbers of dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs. (Whiteside, 8/2)
The top regulator of cancer drugs at the Food and Drug Administration interceded during the late stages of a contentious review of a skin cancer therapy from Replimune Group 鈥 actions that contributed to the treatment鈥檚 last-minute rejection despite support from others inside the agency, STAT has learned. (Feuerstein, 8/4)
In honor of the annual World Lung Cancer Day commemoration on Aug. 1, Johnson & Johnson has unveiled a new initiative encouraging patients to speak up in the treatment decision-making process. The campaign centers around a neologism from J&J: 鈥淭he 3rd Opinion,鈥 meant to signify a patient鈥檚 own opinion, joining the traditional first opinion of a doctor and the second from seeking advice about or corroboration of the first opinion. (Park, 8/1)
A Brooklyn doctor warns that a modest transformation in fingernails could indicate lung cancer. Dr. Davood Johari, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, told the New York Post that 5 percent to 15 percent of lung cancer patients develop nail clubbing, which typically appears in later stages of the disease, often too late for effective intervention. 鈥淔ingertips appear wider and rounder than normal, with the nails curving downwards, resembling an upside-down spoon,鈥 Johari said as August 1 marks World Lung Cancer Day. (Keller, 8/1)
After a train carrying chemicals derailed and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, residents were exposed to carcinogens such as vinyl chloride, acrolein and dioxin. Since tumors are typically slow to develop, it could take decades to know what that might have done to the locals鈥 cancer risk. But there may be a quicker route to an answer: The residents鈥 dogs were also exposed, and dogs develop cancer more quickly. (Holmes, 8/2)
On bladder cancer 鈥
At 57, two-time Super Bowl champion Deion Sanders, has a brand-new bladder. The University of Colorado coach recently underwent reconstructive surgery to treat an aggressive form of bladder cancer after doctors discovered a tumor this spring. (Boden, 8/2)
The brand is often joked about as a sign of old age and embarrassing health issues involving problems going to the bathroom. Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, 57, appears to want to take the shame out of the issue by speaking about it publicly and promoting it. (Schrotenboer, 7/28)
麻豆女优 Health News: 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 鈥極n Air鈥: Journalists Distill $50B Rural Health Fund And Newsmaking Diagnoses
麻豆女优 Health News chief rural correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble discussed the $50 billion rural health fund authorized by the recent Republican megabill on Daily Yonder鈥檚 鈥淭he Yonder Report鈥 on July 31. ... C茅line Gounder, 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 editor-at-large for public health,聽discussed bladder cancer symptoms and treatment on CBS News鈥 鈥淐BS Mornings鈥 on July 29. (8/2)