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House Bill May Target Drugmakers' Advertising Tax Breaks
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., says the House Ways and Means Committee may seek to raise money for health reform by imposing a $37 billion tax on drugmaker"s advertisements, Bloomberg reports: "As lawmakers seek ways to pay for a health-care overhaul, "one thing that"s not off the table is you can pick up $37 billion knocking out the deduction for advertising" for prescription drugs,"" Rangel said. The idea is among several proposals by Democratic legislators to raise reform money (Donmoyer, 6/16).

Washington D.C., Officials Urge Lawmakers To Block House Amendment That Would Impact Local Needle Exchange Programs
This week Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and other Washington, D.C., officials "were racing to persuade congressional leaders to erase a House amendment that would essentially reinstate" a ban on using the district"s tax dollars to fund needle exchange programs, the Washington Post reports. A House bill including an amendment addressing needle exchange approved last week, which gives the district its federal appropriation for fiscal year 2010, "would prohibit the city from providing money to any needle exchange program that operates within 1,000 feet of virtually any location where children gather," according to the Post. Norton said, "It essentially wipes out the program," adding that she is calling on other lawmakers to pay close attention to any similar language in the Senate"s version of the bill, which is still in committee. According to the Post, "If the Senate does not include a similar amendment in its version of the bill, members would iron out their differences in a conference committee after Congress returns from its August recess. That"s where [district] officials and AIDS activists hope to kill the amendment" (Fears, 7/31).
News of the day
Adult Brain Changes With Unsuspected Speed
The human brain can adapt to changing demands even in adulthood, but MIT neuroscientists have now found evidence of it changing with unsuspected speed. Their findings suggest that the brain has a network of silent connections that underlie its plasticity.
Sexual Health

Cancer Drug Causes Patient To Lose Fingerprints And Be Detained By US Immigration

Immigration officials held a cancer patient for four hours before they allowed him to enter the USA because one of his cancer drugs caused his fingerprints to disappear. His oncologist is now advising all cancer patients who are being treated with the commonly used drug, capecitabine, to carry a doctor"s letter with them if they want to travel to the USA. The incident is highlighted in a letter to the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology [1], published online 27 May. According to the oncologist, several other cancer patients have reported loss of fingerprints on their blog sites, and some have also commented on similar problems entering the USA. Dr Eng-Huat Tan, a senior consultant in the medical oncology department at the National Cancer Centre, Singapore, described how his patient, a 62-year-old man, had head and neck cancer that had spread (metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma), but which had responded well to chemotherapy. To help prevent a recurrence of the cancer the patient was put on a maintenance dose of capecitabine, an anti-metabolite drug. Capecitabine is a common anti-cancer drug used in the treatment of a number of cancers such as head and neck cancers, breast, stomach and colorectal cancers. One of its adverse side-effects can be hand-foot syndrome; this is chronic inflammation of the palms or soles of the feet and the skin can peel, bleed and develop ulcers or blisters. "This can give rise to eradication of finger prints with time," said Dr Tan. The patient, Mr S, developed a mild case of hand-foot syndrome, and because it was not affecting his daily life he was kept on a low dose of the drug. "In December 2008, after more than three years of capecitabine, he went to the United States to visit his relatives," wrote Dr Tan. "He was detained at the airport customs for four hours because the immigration officers could not detect his fingerprints. He was allowed to enter after the custom officers were satisfied that he was not a security threat. He was advised to travel with a letter from his oncologist stating his condition and the treatment he was receiving to account for his lack of fingerprints to facilitate his entry in future." Foreign visitors have been asked to provide fingerprints at USA airports for several years now, and the images are matched with millions of visa holders to detect whether the new visa applicant has a visa under a different name. "These fingerprints are also matched to a list of suspected criminals," wrote Dr Tan. Mr S was not aware that he had lost his fingerprints before he travelled. Dr Tan concludes: "In summary, patients taking long-term capecitabine may have problems with regards to fingerprint identification when they enter United States" ports or other countries that require fingerprint identification and should be warned about this. It is uncertain when the onset of fingerprint loss will take place in susceptible patients who are taking capecitabine. However, it is possible that there may be a growing number of such patients as Mr S who may benefit from maintenance capecitabine for disseminated malignancy. These patients should prepare adequately before travelling to avert the inconvenience that Mr S was put through." Dr Tan said that he would recommend patients on capecitabine to carry a doctor"s letter with them. "My patient subsequently travelled again with a letter from us and he had fewer problems getting through." [1] Travel warning with capecitabine. Annals of Oncology. doi:10.1093/annonc/mdp278 [2] Due to patient confidentiality it is not possible to identify Mr S. Emma Mason Emma Mason European Society for Medical Oncology


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