Little evidence vitamins prevent heart disease, cancer

November 12, 2013 By

November 12, 2013
On its website, Time (11/12, Sifferlin, 13.4M) reports that the “U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [USPSTF] says that for most vitamins and minerals, there is not enough evidence to determine whether the pills can lower risk of heart disease or cancer.” With regard “to beta-carotene (found in carrots and tomatoes) and vitamin E, there is no evidence that they can protect against either heart disease or cancer; in fact, beta-carotene use contributed to an increased risk of lung cancer in smokers.”

On its website, NBC News (11/12, Fox, 6.79M) reports that an analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine was “used as the basis” for the recommendations.
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Majority of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Lack KRAS Testing

October 29, 2013 By

October 2013
article authored by Christina Frangou

The majority of patients newly diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in the United States have not undergone KRAS testing, despite recommendations to the contrary.

Only 47.5% of patients with mCRC who were diagnosed between Jan. 1 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011 underwent KRAS testing.

“This is extremely surprising,” said Sanjay Goel, MD, associate professor of medicine (oncology), Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Jack D. Weller Hospital, New York City, who was not affiliated with the study. “A small fraction of patients are being tested. This is not standard of care practice.”

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