Patients With Stomach Cancer May Not Be Benefiting From A Major Study Showing Chemotherapy And Radiation Prolong Life After Surgery

New findings from Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute show significant numbers of patients nationwide who are not getting the recommended therapy after surgery to remove stomach cancer.

Delegates At Tokyo Conference Discuss Ways To Address Health Issues, Including HIV AIDS, In Africa

About 2, 500 delegates from 52 African countries, United Nations agencies and aid groups met Wednesday in Yokohama, Japan, for the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development to discuss strategies aimed at solving health issues, including HIV/AIDS, and other challenges on the continent, the Kyodo News reports (Tang, Kyodo News, 5/27).

Sen. Kennedy To Introduce Bill To Revise National Cancer Act

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who recently was diagnosed with brain cancer, previously had begun work on legislation that would revise the 1971 National Cancer Act, and supporters hope that the "fact that Kennedy has fallen victim to this disease will generate public support and lend new urgency to the need to update the bill, " the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

Sri Lanka Vulnerable To HIV AIDS Epidemic Despite Relatively Low Prevalence, Study Finds

Sri Lanka is vulnerable to a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic despite the country's relatively low HIV/AIDS prevalence, according to a recent study conducted by the Centre for Policy Studies in London, Colombo's Daily Mirror reports. According to the Mirror, UNAIDS has estimated Sri Lanka's adult HIV/AIDS prevalence at less than 0.1%.

Number Of Abortions Performed In Scotland Increased In 2007, Government Statistics Show

Scottish officials on Tuesday released statistics showing a record high 13, 703 abortions were performed in the country in 2007, 540 more procedures than in 2006, the Scotsman reports. Abortions are legal in all cases in the United Kingdom for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. The U.K. House of Commons recently rejected several proposals to lower the 24-week limit (Thompson, Scotsman, 5/28).

17 Wisconsin Insurers To Provide Members Out-of-Pocket Cost Estimates

The Wisconsin Association of Health Plans on Tuesday announced that 17 member companies will begin offering policyholders estimates of out-of-pocket health care costs before undergoing a test or procedure, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The group of insurers includes 13 of the 20 largest insurers in the state.

Researcher Addresses Calls For Increased Focus On Male Circumcision, Partner Reduction Programs As Part Of HIV Prevention In Africa

NPR's "News & Notes" on Tuesday included a discussion with Daniel Halperin, a senior research scientist in the Department of Population and International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, about a recent study that recommended a shift in HIV prevention strategies in Africa toward the promotion of male circumcision and partner reduction programs.

South Florida Accounts For 20 Of Medicare Fraud Cases, U.S. Attorney General Says

Twenty percent of all federal Medicare fraud prosecutions are filed in South Florida, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Wednesday, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 5/29). U.S.

HIV AIDS Vaccine Likely Will Not Be Available Soon, Researcher Says

An HIV/AIDS vaccine likely will not be available in the short term, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, director of France's National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis, said on Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, Xinhuanet reports.

In Laboratory Mice, Immune System Cells From The Bloodstream Entered The Brain And Devoured Plaque That Is Believed To Play A Major Role In Alzheimer

Interrupting a signaling pathway in certain immune system cells in laboratory mice had the opposite effect researchers expected but opened the possibility of a new approach to treating Alzheimer's disease, according to an article in the journal Nature Medicine.