Results of studies “with thorough passive smoking exposure assessment” indicate that passive smoking raises the risk of breast cancer, especially premenopausal disease, to a similar degree as active smoking.

Dr. Kenneth C. Johnson, of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, examined the association between breast cancer risk and passive and active smoking in a meta-analysis of 19 published studies that met basic quality criteria. Results are published in the November issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

By Neil Osterweil , MedPage Today Staff Writer. Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Review: OKAYAMA, Japan, Aug. 23-Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are an improved approach to fecal occult blood tests for detecting possible colorectal cancer, according to researchers here.

Nevertheless, FIT has a relatively low sensitivity and is better at picking up some tumors than others, according to Jun Kato, M.D., of Okayama University and colleagues reported in the August issue of Gastroenterology.

By Michael Smith , MedPage Today Staff Writer. Reviewed by Rubeen K. Israni, M.D., Fellow, Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Source News Article: Boston Globe, LA Times (Registration Req.), USA Today
Review: NEW YORK, Aug. 24-So-called rapid opioid detox using general anesthesia is more expensive than other methods, no more effective, and has potentially life-threatening consequences, researchers here said today.
In the past 15 years, anesthesia-assisted opioid withdrawal has been publicized as a fast, painless solution to heroin addiction, said Eric Collins, M.D., of Columbia division on substance abuse. Yet there’s no good evidence that it works, and it costs as much as $15,000.

By Neil Osterweil , MedPage Today Staff Writer. Reviewed by Rubeen K. Israni, M.D., Fellow, Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Source News Article: Forbes, MSN
Review: TORONTO, Aug. 19-Women at a high risk for early-onset breast cancer because of mutations in the BRCA1-gene may be able to cut that risk by two-thirds if they lose weight early in adult life.

That’s the conclusion of an international team of researchers, who also found that women with harmful BRCA1 mutations who opt to have two or more pregnancies and who gain 10 or more pounds between the ages of 18 and 30 increase their risk of early-onset breast cancer by about 44%.

By Jeff Minerd , MedPage Today Staff Writer – Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Source News Article: Bloomberg, USA Today, Washington Post (Registration Req.)

• Advise asymptomatic men age 40 or older of the potential risks and benefits of PSA screening.

Advise patients who inquire that several large clinical trials are underway that will provide more definitive evidence about the effectiveness of PSA screening to reduce morbidity and mortality, but these studies will take few years.