Eribulin (trade name: Halaven) has been approved since May 2016 for the treatment of adults with advanced liposarcoma. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether the drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy in these patients.

According to the findings, the dossier contained no data suitable for the assessment: In the only study of direct comparison, the dosage of the drug in the comparator arm was not in compliance with the approval. It was not ensured in an indirect comparison that the respective patient populations were sufficiently similar. An added benefit of eribulin is therefore not proven.

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 7, 2016) -- Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have developed a new way to identify which prostate cancer patients are likely to develop aggressive types of the disease even if their tumors at first appear to be lower risk. The new findings could help physicians prescribe the most effective treatments for each patient based on how genes are activated in the individual tumor.

Children love petting dogs, playing with them and crawling after them. They especially love to hug or cuddle the family dog. Unwanted close contact sometimes causes dogs to feel harassed and they respond by snapping at the child. Many cases of dog bites involving small children happen in everyday life as the result of an apparently friendly interaction on the part of the child.

Bite incidents often occur despite supervision

It turns out being the early bird really does have its advantages. A new study in The Auk: Ornithological Advances shows that migrating birds fly faster and put more effort into staying on course in spring than in fall, racing to arrive to their breeding grounds as soon as possible to get an edge in raising the next generation.

Global health experts are today are calling for the removal of restrictions preventing people who use drugs from accessing new hepatitis C cures. So long as these restrictions exist, the goal of disease elimination will remain out of reach, they say.

They are gathered in Oslo for the 5th International Symposium on Hepatitis Care in Substance Users, where new research continues to highlight not just the pivotal role treatment for people who use drugs plays in reducing hepatitis C transmission, but also how it can be rolled out to achieve best results.

Twins should be delivered at 37 weeks' gestation to minimise stillbirths and newborn deaths, and there is no clear evidence to support routine delivery before 36 week's gestation, finds a large international study in The BMJ today.

It is well known that the risk of stillbirth is higher in twin pregnancies than in singleton pregnancies. Uncomplicated twin pregnancies are often delivered early in an attempt to prevent stillbirth, but the optimal gestational age for delivery that minimises risks to newborns is not known.