For women diagnosed with the localized form of breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a new study in The Lancet Oncology finds that treatment with radiotherapy and tamoxifen after surgery significantly reduces the development of the invasive disease and cuts the likelihood of local cancer resurgence.

In a 13-to-7 vote yesterday, an FDA advisory panel recommended the approval of Orexigen Therapeutics’ anti-obesity drug Contrave, saying that the drug’s benefits outweighed its risks. The news comes after two weight-loss drugs — Qnexa from Vivus and lorcaserin from Arena Pharmaceuticals — were rejected by the FDA earlier this year. While only producing moderate weight-loss effects, Contrave has been associated with a rise in blood pressure and pulse rate.

Now for some more good news on the harm reduction front: While cigarette sales have fallen by 17 percent since 2005 due to robust health campaigns and steeper taxes, smokeless tobacco products sales have grown by an annual rate of approximately 7 percent, reports The Chicago Tribune. The increase in sales of smokeless tobacco products can be partially attributed to their invisibility.

Yesterday marked another victory for e-cigarette manufacturer NJOY after a federal appellate court in Washington, D.C. unanimously upheld a lower court’s previous injunction against the FDA’s attempt to regulate the products as drugs or medical devices. The appeals court said that the e-cigarettes should instead be regulated under the less stringent 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which allows the FDA to control tobacco products’ packaging and marketing.

An unintentionally amusing report entitled "On the Money: BPA on Dollar Bills and Receipts”, which was released yesterday by a radical advocacy consortium comprised of The Washington Toxics Coalition and Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, claims that 21 out of 22 dollar bills they tested contained trace levels of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical sometimes alleged to be a causative agent for a slew of mysterious health maladies.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside may as well tell smokers looking to switch to e-cigarettes to keep smoking regular cigarettes based on their study claiming that current versions of the cigarette alternative present a range of issues that pose possible public health risks.

A provision in the child nutrition bill on its way to President Obama’s desk gives the federal government the power to ban bake sales held during school hours, the AP reports. The legislation, part of first lady Michelle Obama's campaign to combat childhood obesity, provides more meals at school for needy kids, including dinner, and directs the Agriculture Department to write guidelines to make meals healthier. The legislation would apply to all food sold in school during regular class hours.ACSH’s Dr.

Normally, we do not publicize promising clinical drug research until it reaches Phase III of testing, but a Phase II Hodgkin’s lymphoma therapy trial has shown unusual efficacy that we believe cannot be ignored. SGN-35 has been developed by Seattle Genetics. An immunology-based therapy, it uses an antibody that specifically targets malignant cancer cells. This is unlike traditional therapies which also attack healthy cells within the body.

Patients already using low-dose aspirin (baby aspirin) to protect against cardiovascular disease may also be reducing their cancer risk, according to a new study published online in today’s The Lancet. British researchers conducted a meta-analysis of more than 25,000 people from eight clinical trials testing the efficacy of baby aspirin (81 mg dose in the U.S.

A study released on Thursday in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society revealed that most women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are still receiving high dose treatments of the female hormones estrogen plus progesterone.