Women Exposed To Higher Levels Of DDT In Utero May Face Higher Risk Of Breast Cancer Later In Life

TIME (6/17, Worland) reports that research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism indicated that “women who had been exposed to higher levels of the pesticide DDT while in utero face increased risk of breast cancer later in life than those who were exposed to lower levels.”

        On its website, NBC News (6/17, Fox, Silverman) reports that investigators “studied blood taken from women during more than 20,000 pregnancies from 1959 through 1967.” These women “gave birth to 9,300 daughters during that time.”

        The Washington Post (6/17, Cha) “To Your Health” blog reports that the investigators “found that elevated levels of DDT in the mother’s blood were associated with” nearly “a four-fold increase in her daughter’s risk of breast cancer and that this was independent of the mother’s history of breast cancer.” The researchers “also determined that those with higher levels of exposure were diagnosed with more advanced breast cancer.” Approximately “83 percent of those who got breast cancer had estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer and were more likely to develop HER2-positive breast cancer.”

        On its website, Fox News (6/17, Cappon) reports that the “54-year study from the Endocrine Society is the first to directly link breast cancer risk to in utero exposure to the chemical pesticide DDT.”

Study: Most Patients With Appendicitis Can Be Treated With Antibiotics Alone

The New York Times (6/17, Kolata, Subscription Publication) reports that research published in JAMA “provides the best evidence to date that most patients” with appendicitis “can be treated with antibiotics alone.” The research “involved 530 patients aged 18 to 60 who agreed to have their treatment — antibiotics or surgery — decided at random.”

        TIME (6/17, Osborn) reports that although “272 of the 273 appendectomy surgeries were successful, 186 of the patients treated with antibiotics did not require surgery at all.” Patients “in the antibiotic group who did ultimately require surgery during a one-year follow-up period (70 patients) showed no signs of complications associated with delaying the procedure.”

        CNN (6/17, Storrs) reports that prior research has “compared appendectomy with antibiotics, but most of them have relied on clinical examination to diagnose uncomplicated appendicitis.” The new “study relied on CT scans, which are a more accurate way to diagnose the disease and to make sure only patients with simple cases are studied...said” lead author Dr. Paulina Salminen.HealthDay (6/17, Reinberg) and Medical Daily (6/17, Scutti) also cover the story.