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Rockefeller Foundation Launches $100M 5-Year Initiative To Improve Health Systems In Africa, Asia
The Rockefeller Foundation launched a $100 million, five-year initiative aimed at improving health systems in Asia and Africa, Judith Rodin, the foundation"s president, said in a speech on Wednesday in Nairobi, Kenya, Xinhua reports. The Transforming Health Systems (THS) project will begin with investments in Ghana, Rwanda and Vietnam, and will also support certain regional and global activities (Ooko, 7/1). The goal of THS is to "help countries in Africa and Asia that lack the latest treatments and technology; and where many people are forced to pay their medical bills out of pocket," VOA News writes (DeCapua, 7/1).
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With Shrinking Budgets, States Cutting Health Services
As state revenues continue their downturn due to the recession, 16 states are trying to find ways to deal with increased health care costs, The New York Times reports: "The carnage in state budgets is getting worse, a report said Thursday, with places like Arizona being hurt by falling revenue on multiple fronts, like personal income and sales taxes. Other states are having mixed experiences, with some tax categories stable, or even rising, even as others fall off the map."
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Improved Communication Encourages Patients To Seek Colorectal Cancer Screening, Study Finds
Improved communication among patients and primary care physicians increases the chances those due for colorectal cancer screening will follow their doctors" advice and complete the procedure, a University at Buffalo study has found.
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Caucasians Are At Higher Risk Of Developing Ewing's Sarcoma Than Other Races

The largest analysis of its kind has found that Caucasians are much more likely than people in other racial/ethnic groups to develop a rare bone and soft tissue cancer called Ewing"s sarcoma. In addition, among Caucasians with this cancer, men are more likely to die than women. Published in the August 1, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that examining the gender and racial differences related to Ewing"s sarcoma could provide a better understanding of the disease and could lead to improved treatments for patients. Ewing"s sarcoma has historically been a difficult cancer to treat, but evolving strategies with various chemotherapy drugs, surgery, and radiation have improved survival. Limited studies have identified risk factors for the disease, although it is clear that there are racial differences in incidence. Patients of various races also differ in how they are affected by the disease and how they respond to treatment. However, no reports from population-based cancer registries have verified these observations and no studies have addressed the potential impact of race on patients" health after they are diagnosed. To get a better sense of racial differences in a large population of patients with Ewing"s sarcoma, researchers led by Dr. Sean Scully of the University of Miami analyzed patient information from the National Cancer Institute"s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, the largest for cancer statistics in the United States. They identified individuals diagnosed with Ewing"s sarcoma from 1973 to 2005 and analyzed various patient- and cancer-related characteristics. The investigators found that Caucasians had the highest incidence of Ewing"s sarcoma (155 cases per 100,000), followed by Asians/Pacific Islanders (82 cases per 100,000) and African Americans (17 cases per 100,000). Those rates indicate that Caucasians are nine times as likely to be diagnosed with the disease than African -Americans. In addition, the incidence of Ewing"s sarcoma has increased significantly over the past three decades in Caucasians. While the analysis identified large differences in incidence rates among races, survival rates were similar. Finally, among Caucasians - but not among other races - women had a much higher likelihood of survival than their male counterparts. The reasons for these racial and gender differences are not clear. However, "the current study constitutes a significant step towards identification of independent demographic and clinical factors associated with improved survival and clarifies some of the associated controversies in incidence patterns that could impact on the treatment of Ewing"s sarcoma," the authors wrote. Additional studies are needed to uncover the causes for racial disparities in incidence and for gender differences in survival. Notes> Article: "Ewing"s sarcoma demonstrates racial disparities in incidence and gender related difference in outcome: An analysis of 1631 cases from the SEER database (1973-2005)." Muhammad Umar Jawad, Michael C. Cheung, Elijah S. Min, Michaela M. Schneiderbauer, Leonidas G. Koniaris, and Sean P. Scully. Published Online: June 22 2009 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24388); Print Issue Date: August 01, 2009. The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Free abstracts of these articles will be available via the CANCER News Room upon online publication. Claire Greenwell American Cancer Society


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