Health Highlights: March 11, 2008

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors ofHealthDay:

More Than Half of Americans Covered by Colon Cancer Screening Laws

For the first time, more than half of the U.S. population -- 54 percent -- is covered by state laws that require insurance providers to cover the cost of colon cancer screening tests, says a report card released Tuesday by a coalition of 11 leading public health organizations, including the American Cancer Society and the American College of Gastroenterology.

The2008 Colorectal Cancer Legislation Report Cardgave an "A" grade to 19 states for colon cancer coverage laws that met certain guidelines, while 26 states received a "D" or "F" for failing to require coverage of colon cancer screening.

Screening rates in states with "A" level coverage laws increased 40 percent faster than the rates in states without such laws, according to a 2006 analysis by the American Cancer Society.

If all Americans aged 50 and older had regular colon cancer screening, colorectal cancer deaths could be reduced by as much as 60 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But only half of people at risk for colon cancer get screened for the disease. Concern about insurance coverage is a major barrier to colon cancer screening, the American Cancer Society analysis found.

When detected early, colon cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. About 90 percent of people diagnosed with early-stage colon cancer survive five years, compared with 10 percent of patients diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer.

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Anemia Drugs Linked to Increased Death Risk: FDA

The anemia drugs Aranesp, Epogen and Procrit are associated with increased risk of death and faster-spreading tumors at high doses, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration briefing information posted Tuesday on the agency's Web site.

The information said eight clinical trials indicated the drugs -- used to treat weakness or fatigue in patients with chronic kidney disease or those who are undergoing cancer chemotherapy -- posed greater risks for patients with breast, lung, head and neck, and cervical cancers,Bloombergnews reported.

"There is now mounting evidence of documented effects on survival, tumor progression," and blood clots, and this evidence "requires a re-assessment of the net benefits of this class of drugs," FDA staff wrote.