News in brief - Jan. 16, 2012

Cancer death rate drops, ACS report shows

Cancer death rates declined from 1999 to 2008 in men and women of every racial and ethnic group with the exception of American Indians/Alaska Natives, whose rates remained stable, said an American Cancer Society report published online Jan. 4 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

For men overall, the death rate decreased 23% from 1990 to 2008, the study showed. The rate fell 15% for women overall from 1991 through 2008 (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.20138/abstract). The decrease was largely due to a reduction in deaths from breast cancer and lung cancer.

The society estimates there will be 1.6 million new cancer cases in the United States in 2012, and more than 577,000 people will die of the disease.

Back to top

FDA curtails use of antibiotics in animals

The Food and Drug Administration plans to ban certain uses of the cephalosporin class of antimicrobials in cattle, chickens, swine and turkeys starting April 5. Such uses include administering the drugs for disease prevention and giving the medication at unapproved dose levels, frequencies and durations.

The intent of the ban is to help preserve the effectiveness of cephalosporins for treating illnesses in humans. The drugs are among the most common antibiotics prescribed to people for pneumonia, skin and soft tissue infections, and urinary tract infections.

The American Medical Association said it supports the FDA's decision to prohibit using cephalosporins to prevent diseases among animals.

The public can comment on the FDA's new order through March 6 by going online and entering FDA-2008-N-0326 in the keyword box (www.regulations.gov). The agency will review the comments before implementing the order.

Back to top