Healthy Skepticism Library item: 19023

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Woloshin S, Schwartz LM, Kramer BS.
Promoting healthy skepticism in the news: helping journalists get it right.
Natl Cancer Inst 2009 2; 101:(23):1596-9
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/101/23/1596.long

Abstract:

The constant barrage of fear and hope in the health news can make your head spin. Nearly every day we hear that almost everything we do (or fail to do) leads to cancer, suffering, and death. Just as frequently (and often on the very same day) we hear about new breakthroughs, tests, and miracle drugs that may save us. Fortunately, we know the fears are usually wildly exaggerated. Unfortunately, we know the hopes usually are, too.\n\nWhere does this exaggerated fear and hope come from? Consider the recent media coverage (Table 1) of a New England Journal of Medicine article about a new cancer treatment—olaparib [a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase—or PARP inhibitor] (1). In this phase I uncontrolled study of 60 patients with a variety of treatment refractory solid tumors, the drug appeared to have an effect in one subgroup: 12 of the 19 patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations and breast, ovarian, or prostate cancer experienced either improvement or no tumor progression (according to radiological or tumor markers) sustained for at least 4 months. …