overtreatment - HealthNewsReview.org

Nov 29 2012

New poster child for disease-mongering? Do you have a pre-cold?

One of our readers tipped us off to what he called “a new poster child for overtreatment.” We’ll call it disease-mongering. It’s the website of the drug company promoting Zicam. The new pitch promotes Zicam for “pre-colds.” What’s a Pre-Cold™?, the website asks, anticipating our astute question. Well, as you can see, it’s a term that the drug company trademarked – they thought it was that cl…
Feb 14 2012

Proton beam therapy: if you build it, they will come

…or major cardiovascular surgical procedures and for neurosurgery. The authors write: “The number of treatment options for localized prostate cancer continues to expand, amidst growing concern regarding overdiagnosis and overtreatment of low-risk disease. Treatment patterns, however, may be driven by availability of novel technologies rather than by clinical indications. … No prostate cancer treatment has been proven superior to the o…
Oct 30 2012

Were AP and AFP reporting on the same Lancet mammography paper?

…possibility of overdiagnosis,” said Wilcox, 70, who had a mastectomy several years ago. “I just thought, ‘It’s good for you, so you do it.’ ” Knowing what she knows now about the problem of overtreatment, Wilcox says she still would have chosen to get screened. “But I would have wanted to know enough to make an informed choice for myself.” But the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) report…
Oct 19 2012

Critics detect hype in “Bra Detects Breast Cancer” news

…earlier and earlier in the process needs to go along with our ability to translate that into knowledge that will actually be lifesaving. Otherwise we will see an increase in incidence, an additional rise in overdiagnosis and overtreatment, and perhaps no reduction in mortality – no additional lives saved. So a recognition of the role of this technology in the early detection field would be good.” Laura Nikolaides of NBCC responded: …
Jan 6 2012

“Stop inappropriate, expensive & perhaps even unethical radical therapies for a condition that by itself does not kill”

… called “adenosis.” They’ve been called IDLE – indolent lesions of epithelial origin. Whatever these cells are called, one practical goal for now is to educate men about the harms of overdiagnosis and overtreatment and offer active surveillance as a treatment option. …
Sep 7 2010

Goldmines for drug and device makers in expanding heart markets: two important stories you shouldn’t miss

…chael Pignone of the University of North Carolina is also quoted in the story: “Heart disease is a huge health problem, and we spend a ton of money treating it. Some of it may not be as well spent as it could be.” Overtreatment. Expanding markets for medical products. Evidence. Shared decision-making issues. Some journalists are directing their attention in the right directions. …
Jan 12 2011

“Simple blood test” – cancer breakthrough or nightmare?

…ogist’s editorial in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association discusses a study on treatment for men’s urinary incontinence following prostate cancer surgery. And this leads him to reflect on overtreatment as well. Excerpt: “In the era of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, the overdiagnosis rate of clinically indolent prostate cancer (defined as a screen-detected cancer that would not present clin…
Jul 21 2010

Excellent story by New York Times on DCIS

…e to Error: Earliest Steps to Find Cancer.“ I’ll only offer the link and will post only this one excerpt: “Diagnosing D.C.I.S. “is a 30-year history of confusion, differences of opinion and under- and overtreatment.” Everyone should read this story in its entirety. It covers what was missing too often in the discussion about mammography screening last November. There are tradeoffs of harms and benefits. There i…
Jun 22 2010

Journalists around the world were all over the map on male menopause story

…an above the age of 50. Actually, the scientists themselves did this study to find criteria to be able to distinguish between occasional normal low testosterone levels and pathogenic testosterone deficiency – to prevent overtreatment: “The application of these new criteria can guard against the excessive diagnosis of hypogonadism and curb the injudicious use of testosterone therapy in older men.” US journalists were just as vari…
Jun 14 2010

The over-radiated American – red, white & blue – and glowing

Another in the excellent Associated Press “overtreatment” series. Excerpt: “Americans get the most medical radiation in the world, even more than folks in other rich countries. The U.S. accounts for half of the most advanced procedures that use radiation, and the average American’s dose has grown sixfold over the last couple of decades. Too much radiation raises the risk of cancer. That risk is growing because people in …