Merck & Co., Inc. announced their candidate AIDS vaccine failed to provide protection in a human study designed to test for efficacy. In this Merck trial involving high risk volunteers, an equal number of people received either placebo or AIDS vaccine. The independent Data Safety Monitoring Board recommended that the trial be stopped because it was not reaching its efficacy endpoints.
Six months of acupuncture treatment appears to be more effective than conventional therapy in treating low back pain, according to a study in the September 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, although the study suggests that both sham acupuncture and traditional Chinese verum acupuncture appear to be effective in treating low back pain.
Physiotherapy ultrasound machines are commonplace in medicine and sports injury treatment but limitations with current calibration equipment mean they may be producing inaccurate doses that could lead to further injury.
A previous study of mortality rates for congenital heart surgery used routinely available hospital data that were misleading, according to a report published today on bmj.com which questions the validity of such data being made public.
Physiotherapy can improve the daily lives of patients who have had knee replacement surgery due to osteoarthritis in the short term, according to a study published on bmj.com today.
Cancer cells circulating in the blood, or circulating tumour cells (CTCs), are known to be associated with a bad prognosis in women with metastatic breast cancer.
Quality of life after treatment for endometrial cancer can be significantly improved by the use of vaginal brachytherapy, where radiotherapy is delivered internally using a vaginal cylinder, the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) heard today (Monday September 24).
A way of predicting which patients will respond well to treatment with a common chemotherapy drug used in breast cancer was unveiled at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) today (Monday 24 September).
A new topical lotion that penetrates the skin deeply enough to target and eliminate serious skin infections, but without being systemically absorbed, has shown a high degree of safety and tolerability in patients with onychomycosis, or toenail fungus, a new study has shown.
Huge challenges face healthcare professionals and policy makers in planning for, and providing cancer care over the next decade or so. Chief amongst these will be ensuring that healthcare professionals have the skills and knowledge to treat a greater number of elderly people with cancer, that current inappropriate ageist attitudes towards the elderly cease, and that advances are made in ensuring that cancer patients are able to comply with their treatment.