Prostate Cancer: The Taller the Greater the Risk

A man's height is a modest marker for risk of prostate cancer development, but is more strongly linked to progression of the cancer, say British researchers.

Twelve researchers at four universities in England studied more than 9,000 men with and without prostate cancer and estimated that the risk of developing the disease rises by about six percent for every ten centimeters (3.9 inches) in height a man is over the shortest group of men in the study. That means a man who is one foot taller than the shortest person in the study would have a 19 percent increased risk of developing the disease.

Still, these increases in risk are a lot less than those linked with other established risk factors, such as age, family history of the disease, and race. Because of that, the researchers do not suggest that taller men be screened more often than is typical, or that their cancer treatment be altered.

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GE Healthcare IT  announced a global reseller agreement with Ormed Information Systems. The agreement will allow GE to resell select applications across the Ormed portfolio, including supply chain management, e-commerce, human resources, and general accounting software.

“We’re excited at the opportunity to give healthcare providers integrated access to the best-of-breed solutions of two leading providers,” said Chris Sherback, President and CEO, Ormed Information Systems. “Ormed solutions complement GE Healthcare IT’s solutions to provide customers with the efficiency, convenience, and confidence of implementing a total solution from a single vendor.” 
 

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At the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2008, Royal Philips Electronics showcased the CX50 CompactXtreme, a recently developed handheld ultrasound system. On show in Europe for the first time, it is able to deliver the image quality expected of a traditional, full-size system in even the most technically challenging investigations. Designed to deliver high-quality images at the bedside, the CX50 provides clinicians with the information they need to give an accurate diagnosis of the patient’s problem.

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Covidien announced that its subsidiary, Mallinckrodt Inc., has reached an agreement with Purdue Pharma L.P. to end a patent infringement lawsuit between them. In connection with the agreement, Purdue has agreed to grant Mallinckrodt a royalty-bearing license to sell limited quantities of oxycodone hydrochloride extended-release tablets for a limited period of time ending in 2009. As a result, Mallinckrodt expects to begin selling oxycodone hydrochloride extended-release tablets before the end of September 2008.

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