Harvard Health Content API

U.S. cancer deaths have continued to drop, a report says. The American Cancer Society releases a new report each year. Between 2004 and 2008, cancer death rates dropped 1.8% a year for men, the new report says. For women, the decline was 1.6% a year. Minority men had the largest declines in death rates among adults. Rates fell 2.4% a year for African-American men and 2.3% a year for Hispanic men. In all, death rate declines led to about 1 million fewer cancer deaths since the early 1990s, the report says. Among children, cancer death rates have fallen by more than half since 1975. But black men and women are still more likely than whites to get cancer and to die from it. New cases of some cancers also increased. They include cancers of the pancreas, liver, thyroid and kidney and some skin, head and neck cancers. The report appeared in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Wearing a nicotine patch may provide a small boost for older adults with mild losses in attention and memory, a study suggests. The study included 67 older adults with mild cognitive impairment. This is a decline in mental function that is not severe enough to be called dementia. People with this condition are more likely to develop dementia, however. People in the study were randomly assigned to wear either a nicotine patch or a placebo (fake) patch for 6 months. Test scores for reaction times, attention and long-term memory improved among those wearing the nicotine patch. Their short-term memory did not improve as much. Test scores went down for people wearing the placebo patch. The journal Neurology published the study. The New York Times and HealthDay News wrote about it January 9.

People who live to be at least 110 may be protected from disease by rare differences in some genes, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed the entire genetic makeup (genome) of two people. The man and woman had both lived past the age of 114. Both had about as many gene mutations linked to disease as most people. But each of them also had other gene mutations that had not been seen before. Researchers said it’s possible these gene differences are linked with longer life. The journal Frontiers in Genetics published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it January 8.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken a first step to limit use of antibiotics in some animals raised for food. The FDA said it would restrict use of cephalosporin antibiotics. They are injected into some cattle, pigs and poultry just before slaughter. These antibiotics are not used as often in animals as some others. But they are frequently needed to treat serious human infections. The number of infections that “resist” one or more antibiotics has been increasing rapidly. Many experts say one reason is the routine use of antibiotics in animals raised for food. The FDA said in 2010 that this use of antibiotics was “a serious health threat.” But this week’s action is the agency’s first to address the threat. The Associated Press wrote about it January 4.