In the News

Retesting Breast Cancer Axioms

The New York Times – Cites research by Professor of Medicine H. Gilbert Welch and Honor Passow, curriculum designer and learning specialist at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, which found that if a 50-year-old woman is screened annually for a decade, she has a 50 percent chance of receiving a false-positive diagnosis somewhere along the way.

Lung Cancer Screening Can Be Cost Effective, Study Reports

U.S. News and World Report via HealthDay News – Discusses a study by Professor of Radiology William Black, which concluded that lung cancer screenings performed by skilled professionals on a very specific set of long-time smokers, could cost less for each year of quality life gained than the generally accepted $100,000-per-year threshold for cost effectiveness.

An Epidemic of Thyroid Cancer?

The New York Times – An opinion piece by Professor of Medicine Gilbert Welch, which discusses the rising number of diagnoses for thyroid cancer in South Korea, and the dangers of what he calls an “epidemic of diagnosis.”

Spinal Surgery Varies by Region in U.S. Study

HealthDay via U.S. News and World Report – Quotes Assistant Professor of The Dartmouth Institute and of Orthopaedic Surgery Brook Martin on the percentage of Americans who experience back pain, and cites research conducted by the Dartmouth Atlas Project on the varying rates of spinal fusion throughout the United States.

Legally High

The New York Times – This article discusses marijuana usage among young adults, and quotes Alan Budney on the ways that smoking may affect students’ academic performance.