Medical Journal News

“It's simple and humane”. Such was Emmanuel Macron's explanation of the title of France's new Aid in Dying bill, which aims to make it legal for adults with terminal illness to take lethal medication prescribed by a doctor. The wish to respect patient choice and alleviate suffering when all other options are exhausted is understandable, but the suggestion that anything related to assisted dying is simple is sorely misplaced.

The Lancet has published two Commissions in 2024 addressing the commonest cancers among men and women: prostate cancer (led by Nicholas James) and breast cancer (led by Charlotte Coles). As we were preparing these Commissions for publication, we considered writing an editorial linking the two cancers. But we hesitated. Surely these conditions are distinguished by their differences, not their similarities. Breast cancer is preventable. No such possibilities exist for prostate cancer. As our Commission on Prostate Cancer concluded: “The projected rise in prostate cancer cases cannot be prevented by lifestyle changes or public health interventions.” Yet, observing their launches and listening to the debates they provoked suggests that these cancers have more in common than might be appreciated—synergies that have important implications for accelerating cancer prevention and control.

Moderna's decision has been criticised by the Africa CDC, with experts urging countries to invest domestically. Paul Adepoju reports.

Civil society has been limited by President Alexander Lukashenko, leaving few organisations to provide health care for migrants at the Belarus–EU border. Ed Holt reports.

The exposure of residents to lead in drinking water caused a national outcry, prompting requirements to update infrastructure and tighten water quality standards. Susan Jaffe reports.

In 1987, medical anthropologist Emily Martin published her groundbreaking book The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction, in which she grounded the female experience of reproduction within the historical sociocultural processes structuring women's embodiment in the USA during the 20th century. Martin focused on capitalism's influence on medicine, arguing that it shaped how the medical profession defined reproduction, and, in turn, how women understood their bodies. She argued that medical texts typically treated female reproduction as production, successful when reaching its “goal” (eg, pregnancy and livebirth) but as “failed” otherwise (eg, menstruation or menopause).

For want of a nail, the ancient proverb goes, the shoe was lost. It has long been observed that the smallest oversights can have downstream effects. Indeed, all of life is a series of actions and consequences—a truth that serves a guiding principle of Abraham Verghese's 2009 novel Cutting for Stone. As a physician and writer born in Ethiopia to parents of Indian descent, Verghese's fiction draws on his personal, cultural, and professional experiences. His literary writing often features intricate medical passages that explore the complexities of both illness and its management, as well as explorations of politics in India and Ethiopia.

The books we read as children are the stories that make us what we are. These are the books that shape our identities, inspire our journeys, and evoke our ambitions. An influential lecturer during my time in medical school suggested that one of the best things anyone can do for a child's long-term physical and mental health, is read to them regularly.

Specialist in pulmonology, infectious disease, and internal medicine. Born on July 7, 1959 in Hanover, Germany, he died on March 10, 2024 in Hanover aged 64 years.

The Director for Health Emergency Interventions of WHO congratulates Valerie Percival and colleagues of The Lancet Commission on peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality on the launch of their important and timely publication.1

With a high level of interest, I read The Lancet Commission on peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality by Valerie Percival and colleagues.1 The Commission's report admirably illuminates the transformative potential of health equity and gender equality in shaping peaceful societies. The emphasis on the intersectionality of health equity and gender equality brings to the fore the essence of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security.2 The findings seem to also align with Hudson's analysis in her work.

As cancer epidemiologists, we support the recommendations of The Lancet Commission on women, power, and cancer,1 which emphasised favourable structural contexts, routine data collection, and the prioritisation of research. Regularly collecting data on sex, gender, and socioeconomic factors in cancer statistics is essential for understanding health inequalities among populations. Providing these indicators enables health-care practitioners to personalise health care according to the specific needs of these populations.

The Lancet Commission on women, power, and cancer makes it clear that when it comes to cancer, women and girls must be considered vulnerable.1 Using data on Syrian refugees, we would like to highlight the specific vulnerabilities of a subgroup of women and girls—namely, those who left their homes as migrants and refugees.

The surge in scarlet fever and invasive group A streptococcal infection in England during winter, 2022–23,1 has stimulated the consideration of optimal sore throat management, as point-of-care tests for diagnosis are not routinely used. Clinical prediction scores can identify patients who are most likely to benefit from antibiotics; however, balance is required between optimising clinical outcome, antimicrobial stewardship, cost-effectiveness, and reducing transmission.2,3 Ideally, interventions should be appraised on these wider public health merits.

We read the NATTINA study by Janet A Wilson and colleagues,1 which supports the immediate tonsillectomy approach for adults with recurrent acute tonsillitis. Although we acknowledge that Wilson and colleagues have provided a comprehensive explanation of the study's limitations, several concerns remain. First, the study enrolled patients between May, 2015, and April, 2018, with the primary outcome being the number of sore throat days observed over a 24-month period. However, some participants might have experienced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the early months of 2020.

The publication by Janet Wilson and colleagues1 captivated my attention. This pioneering randomised controlled trial enhances our comprehension as otolaryngologists, offering crucial evidence for tonsillectomy's efficacy in adults with recurrent tonsillitis.2

We read with great interest the Article by Janet A Wilson and colleagues.1 The authors concluded that immediate tonsillectomy is more effective and cost-effective than conservative management in adults with recurrent acute tonsillitis.

We welcome the enthusiasm of fellow researchers to explore other aspects of recurrent tonsil disease in adults and comment on our Article.1 Christopher R Jones and colleagues highlight the putative association between tonsillectomy rates, tonsillitis admission, and invasive group A streptococcus incidence in children.2 It is impossible for us to suggest how improved and timely access to tonsillectomy could affect societal levels of invasive group A streptococcus but the trends in tonsillectomy rates are clear.

A 47-year-old woman presented to our institution with a 1-month history of swelling and a painless skin plaque on her left breast. 6 years earlier, the patient had been treated for luminal A invasive ductal carcinoma in the superomedial quadrant of the left breast; she had neoadjuvant chemotherapy, breast-conserving surgery, radiation therapy—a whole breast dose of 50 Gy plus a 10 Gy boost to the tumour bed—and oral tamoxifen. The patient had been found to have no recurrence of the tumour at any subsequent follow-up appointments.