Oct 15, 2005 - Harold Shipman's victims failed to raise the alarm over the mor- phine overdose that killed her, the General Medical Council heard last week.
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Women with early breast cancer to be tested for trastuzumab treatment All women in England with early stage breast cancer are to be tested to see if they could benefit from trastuzumab (Herceptin), and approval for use of the drug by the NHS will be fast tracked once it has been licensed. The government announced these measures last week after a campaign by women demanding prompt access to this treatment. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced that all women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer would be tested for suitability for treatment with trastuzumab. The drug is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the HER2 receptor, a cell surface protein which is overexpressed in about a fifth of breast cancers. The drug is currently licensed for use only in women with advanced breast cancer who test positive for HER2, but studies reported to the American Society of Clinical Oncology in May this year claimed that it reduced the risk of recurrence in early breast cancer. “Testing now should mean women could receive the drug as soon as the licence is extended, probably next year,” explained Ms Hewitt. Susan Mayor London
Cervical cancer jab “in a year” 64, 198, 63
A vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) strains that cause most cervical cancers has been shown to be highly effective, a study reported last week. The two year study found that a quadrivalent recombinant vaccine against HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 prevented 100% of cases of high grade precancerous abnormalities and non-invasive cancer associated with HPV types 16 and 18 (P
