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New Report Finds Obesity Epidemic Increases, Mississippi Weighs In As Heaviest State
Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, a report released today by the Trust for America"s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). In addition, the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.

Frank, Dodd, Grassley Speak Their Minds
News outlets are searching out interesting quotes from players in the health reform debate.
News of the day
Cincinnati Enquirer Looks At Effects Of Antiretrovirals On The Lives Of People With HIV, Larger Epidemic
The Cincinnati Enquirer examined how the "success stories" of people living longer with HIV - such as that of former National Basketball Association player Earvin "Magic" Johnson - can "illustrate how well anti-HIV medications work and might be part of the reason the epidemic still rages." The article discussed the efficacy of antiretrovirals, their side effects and the consequences of not taking the medications (O"Farrell [1], Cincinnati Enquirer, 6/5). The Enquirer also featured an overview of the history and science of HIV (O"Farrell [2], Cincinnati Enquirer, 6/5).
Public Health

Safe New Treatment Combination For Head And Neck Cancer Patients

Patients undergoing treatment for advanced head and neck cancers may respond well to the addition of gefinitib to chemotherapy, according to a study sponsored by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and chaired by Ethan Argiris, M.D., associate professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and co-leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Program of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). The results were disclosed at the 45th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on May 30 in Orlando, Fla. "We found that adding gefinitib to standard chemotherapy was well-tolerated by patients who had already received chemotherapy or were frail," said Dr. Argiris. "We had hoped this study would improve the survival rate of patients, but while gefinitib did postpone spread of the disease, it did not increase survival rates. The finding that the addition of gefinitib to chemotherapy can delay the growth of head and neck cancer suggests a potential beneficial effect from combination therapy." One group of 136 patients in the placebo-controlled study received docetaxel alone, a standard treatment for head and neck cancer. A second group of 134 patients received gefinitib in addition to docetaxel. This was the first phase III randomized trial to examine the addition of gefinitib to chemotherapy for patients with head and neck cancer. Gefinitib, which also is known by the trade name Iressa, is a targeted therapy against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapies. Patients were able to take the drug orally and tolerated it well. Dr. Argiris plans to conduct further studies to identify the subsets of patients most likely to respond to the drug and to examine patients" quality of life while taking the combination therapy. Head and neck cancers are a group of biologically similar cancers originating from the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, mouth, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, pharynx and larynx that affect more than 45,000 individuals in the U.S. each year. Head and neck cancers are strongly associated with environmental and lifestyle risk factors, including tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and certain strains of the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus. Courtney McCrimmon University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences


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