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For Struggling Single Moms, 3-Generation Households Are Better Than 2
Living in a three-generation household can significantly enhance the economic well-being of children, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

For America's Aged, Surgery At Any Price?
When doctors decide whether or not to go ahead with an expensive surgery, "age is no longer the deciding factor, even for invasive treatment such as open-heart surgery," The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. One question is "whether this never-too-old approach is an example of U.S. medical progress, or an example of why Medicare -- federal health insurance for people over 64 -- is headed for insolvency. The answer, experts say, is both. Which is why the current debate over expanding federal coverage to all uninsured Americans is an ethical and economic minefield. "Forty years ago, it was taken for granted that the elderly were not good candidates for organ transplantation, dialysis, or advanced surgical procedures. That has changed," Daniel Callahan, cofounder of the Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute in Garrison, N.Y., wrote recently. "Under the best of circumstances, age should be irrelevant in the Medicare program. But so far, the cost of care has not been considered, and it can hardly remain irrelevant in a program strapped for money.""
News of the day
Ongoing Study Shows That Endovascular Therapy Is Associated With High Cure Rate For Childhood Eye Cancer
Expanded results of a study conducted on children with eye cancer (retinoblastoma) shows that chemotherapy delivered through endovascular (through the vessel) means not only successfully cures the cancer in a majority of cases, but achieves this cure with preserved vision. Study outcomes were presented this week at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) 6th Annual Meeting in Boca Raton, FL by lead author Pierre Gobin, Professor of Radiology in Neurosurgery and Neurology at the Weill Cornell Medical Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
Medical Devices

Minimal Important Differences In Melanoma-Related Quality Of Life

Quantitative assessments of patient quality of life are becoming increasingly important in the context of clinical trials. In addition to establishing benchmark score differences that are useful when interpreting study results, Minimal Important Differences (MIDs) inform discussions of clinically meaningful change in patient status. In a recent study by researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, various techniques to quantify MIDs were applied to data from the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Melanoma (FACT-M). These included analyses linked to patient performance status indicators over time such as the Karnofsky Performance Status Scale and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status Scale. Askew and colleagues reported that different performance indicators serving as clinical "anchors" yielded varying MID estimates. The goals of the current study will contribute to and hopefully expand the on-going discussion of how investigators define clinically meaningful change in patient quality of life. Dr. Janice Cormier, Associate Professor of Surgery and Biostatistics, who along with colleagues, developed and validated the FACT-Melanoma questionnaire noted that, "With the increased interest expressed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patient reported outcomes for clinical trial research, the need for evidence-based standards for interpreting differences in patient status has become increasingly important." This will be discussed in Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes Research. Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 4,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide. ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care res wisely, fairly, and efficiently. ISPOR


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