GOOD NEWS

Tea relief

A study conducted in China indicates that drinking tea reduces the risk of bile stones and cancer in women. Bile stones occur in the ducts that transfer bile from the liver to the small intestine. If the stones block the opening of the gall bladder, they can cause discomfort. The researchers at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland examined the effects of tea consumption on the risk of biliary tract cancers and biliary stones. Women, drinking one cup of tea per day for at least six months lowered the risks of bile stones by 27 per cent, gall bladder cancer by 44 per cent, and bile duct cancer by 35 per cent.

Pain Killer

Using paracetamol regularly appears to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by 30 per cent, indicates the result of a review of several studies, reported in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Lead researcher Dr Stefanos Bonovas of the department of pharmacology at the University of Athens and colleagues looked at all studies covering paracetamol and ovarian cancer from 1966 to 2004. Bonovas said several observational studies had examined paracetamol as a potential chemopreventive agent. The analysis showed that ‘regular use’ was associated with a 30 per cent reduction in the risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with non-use.

BAD NEWS

Causing cancer

A handful of viruses, bacteria and parasites is responsible for one fifth of cancers worldwide, according to new estimates. In 2002, 17.9 per cent of cancer cases worldwide were caused by infections ranging from HIV to the ulcer bug Helicobacter pylori, says a report in the International Journal of Cancer. If these infections could be prevented, many cases of cancer in developing nations would be avoided. Dr Donald Maxwell Parkin of the University of Oxford estimates that H. pylori was responsible for 5.5 per cent of all cancers worldwide in 2002.

False beliefs

Patients newly diagnosed with localised prostate cancer often don't retain information provided by their physicians about treatment options, says a new study conducted at the University of Colorado in Denver. Instead, patients are inclined to base their treatment decisions on fear and uncertainty, false impressions, and anecdotes from acquaintances who have been treated for prostate cancer.