Breast-screening tests could ‘lead to unnecessary treatment,’ say experts

London, Feb 20 (ANI): Brit experts have cautioned that repeated breast screening tests could lead to unnecessary treatment while women remain ignorant of the risks.

Attacking the Government’s “unethical” leaflets for mammograms, they have said that these pieces of paper “do not come close to telling the truth.”

Twenty-three leading specialists have warned that breast cancer screening can lead to patients being given unnecessary surgery or chemotherapy.

They also claimed that in case cancers detected by the programme were left alone, many “might never appear in a woman’s natural lifespan.”

The warning comes in line with an analysis by the Nordic Cochrane Centre, which found that if 2,000 women were screened for ten years, 10 would be treated unnecessarily.

And a warning letter, signed by public health specialists, epidemiologists, oncologists, GPs and patient representatives, has been sent to the Times newspaper.

The criticism follows the warning by doctors that recent trends to reduce the physical marks caused by breast cancer surgery risk “losing some of the gain in survival” seen in the past decade.

And experts have cautioned that the stress on ensuring that breast surgery does not look unsightly may be at the risk of survival rates.

Monica Morrow, chief of the Breast Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, said that minimally invasive surgery might not be the best for patients.

“Failure to demand a rigorous evaluation of oncological outcomes as well as cosmetic ones runs the risk of losing some of the gains in survival seen in the past decade,” the Telegraph quoted her as writing in the British Medical Journal.

She added: “The local treatment of breast cancer is based on the results of numerous high quality clinical trials and is therefore a model for evidence based care. As we attempt to advance from good to great cosmetic outcomes it is important that we remember this.” (ANI)

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Fake-drug-warning advert shows man coughing up rat

London, Jan 16 (ANI): A new advert warning people against the dangers of buying drugs over the internet has featured a man coughing up a dead rat.
Made by Pfizer, the advert will be screened in cinemas and has been classified at 15 owing to the graphic nature of the scenes.

The advert shows a man pulling out a dead rat from his mouth after taking a pill he has bought online.

It highlights the risks posed by counterfeit medicines, often sold via websites, which may not work or even be harmful.

A Pfizer report has cited that one in ten men have admitted buying drugs over the internet without a prescription.

In fact, one of the most popular drugs bought online is Viagra made by the company.

The commercial has the backing of the UK medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and leading patient representatives including The Patients Association, Men’s Health Forum and Heart UK.
We are thrilled to be collaborating with the MHRA and leading UK patient organisations to tackle the industry wide problem of counterfeit medicines head on. The time has definitely come to issue a clear, unified message to people about the dangers of purchasing medicines from illicit and unregulated sources,” the Telegraph quoted Dr David Gillen, Pfizer’s Medical Director, as saying.

He added: “This advertising campaign forms part of a wider public education campaign launched by Pfizer last year to ensure the public is aware of the health risks they are taking by buying and consuming counterfeit medicines, potentially without even a proper diagnosis from a qualified healthcare professional.” (ANI)

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