A weekly round-up of news affecting your health
SKIN CANCER PREDICTOR?
A new online tool that predicts a person's chance of getting skin cancer is to be trialled on Australian patients.
Researchers at QIMR Berghofer developed the tool using data from around 39,000 people aged between 40 and 70.
Survey questions relate to 10 risk factors including age, gender, smoking status, skin colour, tanning ability and freckling tendency.
When used in a research setting, the tool was found to be highly accurate in predicting the risk for people aged 40 and over of developing non-melanoma skin cancers within three years, said Professor David Whiteman.
It will now be trialled by doctors from the Skin Cancer College of Australasia to confirm its accuracy when used on patients.
Professor Whiteman stressed that the tool isn't a substitute for visiting a doctor or skin cancer clinic.
But if the trials are successful, he hopes it will be used by all GPS and clinics and also result in people seeking earlier medical advice.
HOLD THAT DRINK
Some drinkers may have been reassured by studies linking moderate amounts of alcohol to health benefits.
But a new study reviewing 87 past research papers concludes many were based on flawed science.
The Canadian-led review, in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, says past works have suggested moderate drinking, say a glass of wine with dinner, can cut the risk of heart disease, helping people live longer and healthier.
But it concludes the studies were biased, poorly designed and pointed to an implausibly wide range of health benefits.
"Compared with abstainers, for instance, moderate drinkers have shown lower risks of deafness and even liver cirrhosis," the researchers said.
Moderate drinkers were often compared to abstainers, some of whom had given up alcohol because of poor health.
This resulted in findings that occasional drinkers, who had less than one drink a week, lived the longest.
CROHN'S DISEASE RESEARCH
Australian adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease are being sought for an international clinical study lasting for up to 62 weeks.
The disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, can be both painful and debilitating, sometimes leading to life-threatening complications.
The inflammation often spreads beyond affected areas.
The study, called MAP US, will target a bacteria which is a potential cause of the disease.
It will randomise 270 participants and take place in around 120 doctor's offices in the US, Canada, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Poland.
More information at www.MAPmyCrohns.com.
CHEMO PARENTING PROSPECTS
Women who underwent modern chemotherapy treatment for childhood cancer have a good chance of becoming pregnant, says a new US study.
But male childhood cancer survivors are significantly less likely to have children, especially if their chemo regimes contained high doses of commonly used alkylating drugs and cisplatin.
With more than 80 per cent of children with cancer living into adulthood, the impact of treatment on fertility is a major concern for survivors, say the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research scientists whose study is published in The Lancet Oncology.
The large study showed that by age 45, 70 per cent of female cancer survivors became pregnant, compared to over 80 per cent of siblings, while male figures were 50 per cent compared to 80 per cent.
Researcher Er Eric Chow said paediatric oncologists still need to do a better job discussing fertility and fertility preservation options with patients and families upfront before starting cancer treatment.
In particular, all boys diagnosed post-puberty should be encouraged to bank their sperm to maximise their reproductive options in the future.
The current options for post-pubertal girls remain more complicated, but include oocyte and embryo cryopreservation
