Health Report: Apr. 4, 1994

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THE GOOD NEWS

-- Scientists have the best evidence yet that immunotherapy- using the body's immune system to fight disease -- is an effective way to treat certain cancers. After giving the genetically engineered drug Interleukin 2 in high doses to 283 patients with spreading kidney or skin cancer, researchers found that a significant number stayed in remission for periods from seven to 91 months.

% -- Nicotine, the drug that causes addiction in cigarette smokers, may improve the condition of people who suffer from ulcerative colitis. Half the patients in a new study saw their symptoms abate after receiving nicotine through skin patches.

THE BAD NEWS

-- The shortage of primary-care physicians is not likely to improve soon. In a survey of 688 medical students, just 27% chose primary care (pediatrics, internal medicine, family practice) as a career path. Nearly half said they would switch if they were offered incentives -- an increase in salary, for example. Only one-third of U.S. doctors work in primary care, short of the 50% sought by experts.

-- Here's a fresh concern: lead spewed into the skies above Europe by ancient silver smelters as far back as 2,600 years ago. The toxic by-product has been discovered in lake sediment in Sweden; the lead traces could still cause poisoning.

Sources-GOOD: Journal of the American Medical Association; New England Journal of Medicine; A.P. BAD: Journal of the American Medical Association; Nature; A.P.