The number of new cases of breast cancer diagnosed worldwide has risen dramatically from about 640,000 in 1980 to 1.6 million in 2010. During the same period, cervical cancer incidence and death rates have been decreasing, but the disease still killed 200,000 women in 2010, according to the first global estimates published Sept. 14 in The Lancet. The report shows that, in 2010, 51 percent of the 1.6 million new cases of breast cancer and 76 percent of the 425,000 new cases of cervical cancer occurred in developing countries.

The FDA has released draft guidance clarifying when device modifications trigger the need for a new premarket review, or 510(k) submission. When finalized, it will supersede the previous 1997 guidance on the subject.

The rates of new lung cancer cases in the U.S. dropped among men in 35 states and among women in six states between 1999 and 2008, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among women, lung cancer incidence decreased nationwide between 2006 and 2008, after increasing steadily for decades. Smoking cessation fueled the decline and other data have suggested CT screening could motivate smokers to quit.

Comments on a proposed rule to relax sterility test requirements for biological products must be submitted to the FDA by Sept. 19. Published June 21 in the Federal Register, the proposal is aimed at increasing flexibility for manufacturers by encouraging state-of-the-art methods, and includes elimination of specified sterility test requirements.

In response to the FDA's invitation to participate in a public workshop related to FDAs Draft Guidance on mobile medical apps, AMIAthe association for informatics professionalsadvised the agency on how it should approach oversight of clinical decision support (CDS) systems.

GE, along with its healthcare and financial partners, has launched a healthymagination initiative aimed at accelerating cancer innovation and improving care for 10 million cancer patients globally by 2020.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), along with several association and industry partners, has launched Million Hearts, an initiative that aims to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in the U.S. over the next five years. Currently, cardiovascular disease (CVD) costs $444 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity for people living in the U.S.

Philips Healthcare has rolled out new technology able to separate fetal and maternal pulses.