PRx Blog

Twinkies are Okay and Decline in Cancer: News of the Week

No Link Between Foods with Artificial Coloring and Hyperactivity

An expert panel convened by the FDA has determined that there is no proof that foods with artificial colorings cause hyperactivity in children and there is no need for these foods to carry special warning labels. According to the New York Times article, artificial color which is found in children’s favorites like Froot Loops, Life Savers and Hostess Twinkies have, have been in debate since the 1970s when a pediatric allergist successfully treated hyperactivity in some children by prescribing a diet that included eliminating foods with artificial coloring.

The panel was conveyed after FDA scientists decided that children with behavioral problems may see their symptoms worsen by eating foods with synthetic color additives. The panel voted 8 to 6 that a warning on food with artificial colors was not needed but did say more studies needed to be conducted.

Lung Cancer Death Rates Improve for Women
For the first time in 40 years, lung cancer death rates for women fell along with a continued decline in the overall cancer deJath rate. The report, published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed that lung cancer death rates among women dropped nearly 1 percent yearly between 1992 to 2007.

Researchers with the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society compiled the report, which provides an analysis of long- and shorter-term trends in cancer incidence and death rates. The report focuses on the 15 most common cancers and the 15 most common cancer-related causes of death in men and women.

The report found an 0.8 percent decline in new cancer diagnoses every year between 2003 and 2007, and an annual decline in death rates of 1.6 percent. Researchers did find that the incidence of childhood cancer rose slightly during this time period and the decline that started in the mid-1970s in treating childhood leukemia has slowed. One of the reasons for the slowing decline is that the newer, targeted cancer therapies are only studied and approved in adults.

Posted by Lauren Arnold on April 1, 2011 at 4:05 PM