Noted

Under updated screening guidelines from the American Cancer Society, women with an average risk of breast cancer should have annual mammograms beginning at age 45 instead of age 40, although they can opt to start as early as age 40 (JAMA 2015;314:1599–1614). Women age 55 and older should transition to screening every other year unless they choose to stick with the annual schedule.

According to a Nature report, under an amended Russian law, scientists should vet research manuscripts with the country's Federal Security Service before publishing or presenting the findings. President Putin's decree, now being enforced at the A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology at Lomonosov Moscow State University, expands the scope of a law obligating scientists to get permission before publishing anything that might have “military or industrial significance.”

A World Health Organization panel declared that processed meat products, such as salami, bacon, and hot dogs, are carcinogenic to humans (Lancet 2015 Oct 26 [Epub ahead of print]). That puts these products in the highest risk category for cancer, along with tobacco smoke and diesel engine exhaust.

According to a survey of 3,954 patients undergoing surgery for lung or colorectal cancer, 80% of patients with lung cancer and nearly 90% of those with colorectal cancer believed that surgery would cure their cancer (Cancer 2015; 121:3564–73). Even the majority of patients diagnosed with stage IV lung or colorectal cancer responded that surgery was likely to be curative—about 57% and 80%, respectively.

Oregon Health & Science University in Portland released an iPhone app designed to advance melanoma research by giving users the ability to measure and monitor moles, and to contribute photos of how the moles evolve over time. Called Mole Mapper, the app is free to download from the App Store. It was developed with Research Kit, an open-source framework developed by Apple.