VOLUME 48, ISSUE 2, February 2012 - Get the newsletter as PDF here

More light, less heat, in the breast screening debate?

Debate about the benefits and harms of breast screening programmes, which has rumbled on for decades, has entered a new phase of scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.  In the UK, an independent review of the National Health Service (NHS)’s breast screening programme is due to report in the next few months... MORE

 
EJC EUROFILE: Cancer care suffers as Eurozone spending cuts bite

As Eurozone countries wrestle with continuing financial crisis, signs are emerging that care for cancer patients is being adversely affected.
In 2011, Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Italy were forced to take a series of austere measures in order to stave off bankruptcy and qualify for bailout loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Under the loan terms, each country agreed to cut its spending on healthcare in 2012 and beyond... MORE

EJC NEWS FOCUS

The largest ever screening trial in lung cancer reported last year that screening with low-dose CT reduces mortality from the disease. This impressive trial, from the US’ National Lung Screening Trial Research Team, demonstrated that CT scans could detect both early stage and advanced disease. So – does that mean that lung screening is set to become a reality in many countries? Not in the short term, says EJC’s Lung Cancer Editor, Mary O’Brien (Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, UK). She told Helen Saul that other ongoing trials will take between 5 and 10 years to report, and that these results will be needed to answer outstanding questions before expensive screening programmes can be considered. But in the meantime, she applauds the trial and says it holds important messages for both clinicians and patients... MORE