2/24/2003 Shari Roan International Tea Committee (figures from 1999-2001) Tea may prove to be even more potent as a disease fighter than expected. As studies increase, so does optimism. Tea may prove to be even more potent as a disease fighter than expected. As studies increase, so does optimism. When it comes to a societal tonic, Americans have long preferred coffee over tea. But although coffee may be good, it's increasingly hard to ignore the evidence that tea is good for you. Long viewed simply as a reason to relax in the middle of a stressful day or as a folk remedy for colds and digestive problems, mounting research suggests that drinking tea could lower the risk of developing several serious illnesses, including heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. Almost 300 tea studies were completed last year alone. Tea is as hot among consumers as it is among researchers. In the United States, sales rose from $1.84 billion in 1990 to an estimated $5.03 billion in 2002, according to the Tea Council of the USA, a trade organization. Though consumption per person still lags far behind that of many countries, the numbers reflect a soaring interest in this ancient brewed drink. The recent findings have made a believer out of Andrea Emmerich, 38, who was shopping recently at Elixir Tonics & Teas, a store and tea garden on Melrose Avenue. Emmerich was choosing from bowls of high-quality, loose tea leaves selling at $2.75 to $9 an ounce. A few years ago, [...]

2/1/2003 Jenny Huang, Lisa Barbera, Melissa Brouwers, George Browman, William J. Mackillop Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 21, Issue 3 / : 555-563 Purpose: The objective of this study was to synthesize what is known about the relationship between delay in radiotherapy (RT) and the outcomes of RT. Methods: A systematic review of the world literature was conducted to identify studies that described the association between delay in RT and the probability of local control, metastasis, and/or survival. Studies were classified by clinical and methodologic criteria and their results were combined using a random-effects model. Results: A total of 46 relevant studies involving 15,782 patients met our minimum methodologic criteria of validity; most (42) were retrospective observational studies. Thirty-nine studies described rates of local recurrence, 21 studies described rates of distant metastasis, and 19 studies described survival. The relationship between delay and the outcomes of RT had been studied in diverse situations, but most frequently in breast cancer (21 studies) and head and neck cancer (12 studies). Combined analysis showed that the 5-year local recurrence rate (LRR) was significantly higher in patients treated with adjuvant RT for breast cancer more than 8 weeks after surgery than in those treated within 8 weeks of surgery (odds ratio [OR] = 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21 to 2.16). Combined analysis also showed that the LRR was significantly higher among patients who received postoperative RT for head and neck cancer more than 6 weeks after surgery than among those treated within 6 weeks [...]