Just two days ago I wrote about Dr. Michael Kirsch’s excellent blog post “Beware Surrogate Markers.” In it he wrote:
“Why do some medical studies, which achieve breaking news status, often fall so short of our expectations? Physicians are cynical about these medical milestones, since they are often short-lived. Today’s cure may become tomorrow’s disease.
…
The public needs to understand this issue. Think about this the next time you read a news flash that promises a medical miracle. Chances are that the miracle is a mirage.”
Need examples? Two days later – just in the course of our limited sweep on HealthNewsReview.org, we’ve already seen three examples of stories failing to convey the limitations of surrogate markers.
The worst was by WebMD, reporting on “pro-inflammatory markers” to back up anti-aging claims. Read our full story review at the previous link.
Then both USA Today and AP spent varying amounts of time reporting on the surrogate endpoint of higher HDL cholesterol levels in a study of low carb versus low fat diets.
Reviewers wrote in the USA Today story review:
Rather than report simply on this surrogate end point, do we know anything about what these HDL changes mean in terms of their risk of heart attack?
But the AP story chose the HDL angle as a primary focus, and our reviewers commented:
“Americans are already overly obsessed with ‘scores.’ Emphaszing the HDL difference without adequately explaining its real significance in peoples’ lives feels like more scoreboard-watching without knowing the rules of the game.”
Ivan Oransky has already launched Embargo Watch and Retraction Watch blogs to track recurring events.
Has it come to this with stories about surrogate markers or intermediate endpoints? Does this topic need its own blog?
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
We’ve written about the hype of liquid biopsies for years (see link in comment below). And now this…. https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/12/medicare-shouldnt-cover-liquid-biopsies-early-cancer-detection/
Case counts still matter. “(There) are stories that may not be told adequately if only hospitalizations and deaths are emphasized.” @garyschwitzer interviewed by @dbauder of @AP. https://apnews.com/article/omicron-changing-news-outlets-covid-data-da9272f7c4c8a109c3bfb56bed9e9c76
My friend Gary @garyschwitzer wrote to his city council representative in a Minnesota town about a Viva Las Vegas event scheduled for January.
The response he got seems to perfectly capture where we are now.
https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2021/12/2021-ends-with-covid-craziness-in-sports-and-politics/
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