Harvard Health Content API

Women who have regular Pap smears are less likely to die of cervical cancer if they ever develop it, new research finds. The Pap smear removes a bit of tissue from the cervix. The sample is examined under a microscope. Any precancerous cells found can be removed before they become cancer. The study found that women who do have cancer are also less likely to die if it is diagnosed after a routine Pap smear, rather than after symptoms develop. The study focused on more than 1,200 Swedish women. They were diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1999 and 2001. The researchers found that 92% of those who had regular Pap smears were cured. The cure rate was 66% for women diagnosed after they had symptoms. With cervical cancer, symptoms occur after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Women who had Pap tests, but not as often as recommended, also were more likely to die.

Taking selenium in pills may correct a deficit. But too much can be risky, a new study suggests. Much of the difference may depend on where people live and what they eat. Selenium levels in soil, and the food grown there, vary from place to place. The new study reviewed recent research on selenium. Low levels in the blood have been linked with a higher risk of death from all causes and from cancer. Selenium deficiency also has been linked with poor immune function and a greater risk of dementia. But too much selenium can be harmful, research suggests. High blood levels have been linked with a greater risk of type 2 diabetes. Other research has linked high selenium with increases in skin rashes, hair loss and skin cancers other than melanoma. The new review of research found that blood levels of selenium vary greatly by region. They tend to be high in North America.

People with stable heart disease do just as well with medicines as with stenting to open clogged arteries, a new evidence review finds. The study focused on stable angina. This is chest pain that occurs during exercise or stress, but not at other times. It is caused by deposits in coronary arteries that limit blood flow. Many Americans are treated with angioplasty. A tiny balloon is blown up inside the artery to crush the blockage. Usually a tube called a stent is put in to keep the artery open. The new review put together results from 8 prior studies. They included 7,229 people with stable angina. They were randomly assigned to receive stenting plus standard heart medicines or medicines alone. Researchers kept track of them for an average of 4 years. About 9% of each group died. About 8.9% of the stent group and 8.1% of the medicine group had nonfatal heart attacks.