Harvard Health Content API

Boys whose testicles do not come down into the scrotum are 3 times more likely to have testicular cancer later in life. Before birth, the testicles are formed inside the body. Shortly before birth, they normally move down into the scrotum. In 3% to 4% of full-term boys and about 33% of premature boys, this does not happen. One or both testicles remain in the body. This is called cryptoorchidism. Researchers looked at 12 published studies of cryptoorchidism and testicular cancer risk. The studies included a total of more than 2 million boys. The research showed an increased risk for testicular cancer. The study was published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. HealthDay News wrote about it November 29.

A transplant of the body’s “brown fat” can help to burn more calories, lower blood sugar and control weight — at least in mice. That’s the conclusion of a new study. Most people have a lot more white fat, which is often unhealthy. Brown fat is found in small amounts around the neck, collarbone, shoulders, spine and heart. Its purpose seems to be to burn calories to keep the body warm. Researchers wanted to know if a transplant elsewhere in the body would help with weight control. They took tiny amounts of brown fat from between the shoulders of mice and injected it near the white fat of the belly. They tried this first with mice of normal weight and then with overweight mice. After 8 weeks, mice that got the injections were better at converting glucose (sugar) into energy. As a result, they had lower blood sugar than mice that got a sham treatment.

An influential group of experts says baby boomers at high risk of having hepatitis C infection should get tested. But the group did not endorse a recent government recommendation for even wider testing. The new advice is from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. This group provides advice to doctors on preventive care. It is independent but government-sponsored. The task force said there’s enough evidence to support testing for people who have a higher than average risk of hepatitis C. That includes people who have used injection drugs and those who had blood transfusions before 1992. In May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said all baby boomers should get a one-time test. About 3 out of 4 people infected with hepatitis C are from this generation. But the actual numbers are low, about 3% to 4% of baby boomers.

Taking a common breast cancer drug longer than usual can further reduce deaths from the disease, a new study says. The research focused on a group of 6,846 women with a type of breast cancer that grows in response to the hormone estrogen. When the study began, they already had taken the drug tamoxifen for 5 years, the standard treatment. Tamoxifen blocks the effects of estrogen on breast cancer. It helps to keep the cancer from returning after surgery. In the study, the women were randomly assigned to stick to standard treatment or to take tamoxifen for another 5 years. By the end of the study, cancer had returned in 25% of women who took the drug for 5 years and 21% of those who took it for 10 years. About 12% of the women who extended tamoxifen treatment died of breast cancer, compared with 15% of the women who stopped after 5 years.

A new drug may help to prevent blood clots in the legs without causing a risk of bleeding, new research suggests. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a blood clot that forms in a vein. If it travels to the lungs, heart or brain, it can be deadly. After hospital treatment, people with VTE take warfarin (Coumadin) for 6 to 12 months to help keep new clots away. The risk of new clots continues after this time. But people don’t take warfarin longer because of a risk of bleeding. The new study included nearly 2,500 people who had completed standard treatment with warfarin after VTE. They were randomly assigned to receive apixaban or placebo (fake pills) twice a day. Apixaban reduces the risk of clots in a different way than warfarin. During the next year, 9% of those taking the placebo and 1.7% of those taking apixaban had a new VTE.