Health Advocacy Organizations and the Pharmaceutical Industry: An Analysis of Disclosure Practices -- American Journal of Public Health selected articles

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AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Jan 13, 2011

April 2011, Vol 101, No. 4 | American Journal of Public Health 602-609
© 2011 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.300027

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, AND LAW

Health Advocacy Organizations and the Pharmaceutical Industry: An Analysis of Disclosure Practices
Sheila M. Rothman, PhD, Victoria H. Raveis, PhD, Anne Friedman, BA and David J. Rothman, PhD
Sheila M. Rothman is with the Division of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, and the Center for the Study of Society and Medicine,

College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. Victoria H. Raveis is with the Psychosocial Unit on Health, Ageing, and Community, New York University College of Dentistry, New

York. At the time of the study Anne Friedman was with the Center on Medicine as a Profession, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. David J. Rothman is with the College
of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University.
Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Sheila M. Rothman, Center for the Study of Society and Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University,

630 West 168th St, PH 15-25, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: smr4@columbia.edu). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" button.
Health advocacy organizations (HAOs) are influential stakeholders in health policy. Although their advocacy tends to closely correspond with the pharmaceutical industry's
marketing aims, the financial relationships between HAOs and the pharmaceutical industry have rarely been analyzed.
We used Eli Lilly and Company's grant registry to examine its grant-giving policies. We also examined HAO Web sites to determine their grant-disclosure patterns.

Only 25% of HAOs that received Lilly grants acknowledged Lilly's contributions on their Web sites, and only 10% acknowledged Lilly as a grant event sponsor.

No HAO disclosed the exact amount of a Lilly grant.
As highly trusted organizations, HAOs should disclose all corporate grants, including the purpose and the amount. Absent this disclosure, legislators, regulators,

and the public cannot evaluate possible conflicts of interest or biases in HAO advocacy.




This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Weinberg Patient Advocacy Organizations and Corporate Relationships Am J Public Health, April 1, 2011; 101(4): 582 - 583. [Full Text] [PDF]

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abstract: Patient Advocacy Organizations and Corporate Relationships -- Weinberg 101 (4): 582 -- American Journal of Public Health

April 2011, Vol 101, No. 4 | American Journal of Public Health 582-583
© 2011 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300087

LETTERS

Patient Advocacy Organizations and Corporate Relationships
Myrl Weinberg, MA
Myrl Weinberg is president of the National Health Council, Washington, DC.
Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Myrl Weinberg, National Health Council, 1730 M Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036-4561 (e-mail: mweinberg@nhcouncil.org). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

	Because this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

Since its creation in 1920, the National Health Council (NHC) has been dedicated to the values of integrity, transparency, and honesty. It is crucial that the patients we represent, the public, and the policy makers receive accurate information about how patient advocacy organizations conduct their relationships with corporate America.
The NHC agrees with Rothman et al. about the need for transparency.¹ For this reason, any patient advocacy organization that wishes to join or retain its membership in the NHC must disclose funding received from corporations and present the information in an easily accessible manner within 6 months of the close . . . [Full Text]

eCancer video: (Avastin) Bevacizumab and Ovarian Cancer: Results of ICON7 - interview Prof. Timothy J. Perren, MD discusses sgo presentation

(NCCN) Updated Ovarian Cancer Guidelines Offer a New Treatment Choice

Note: this refers to the Japanese study published 2010 of weekly Taxol - search blog for the original study and additional commentaries


March 14, 2011 — The updated 2011 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Ovarian Cancer Guidelines have added a new treatment option — dose-dense paclitaxel — for the first-line treatment of stage II, III, or IV epithelial ovarian cancer.

The category 1 recommendation comes from data from the Japanese Gynecologic Oncology Group, said panel chair Robert J. Morgan, MD, professor of medicine at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California, here at the NCCN 16th Annual Conference.

In a phase 3 open-label randomized controlled trial published in the Lancet (2009; 374:1331-1338), Noriyuki Katsumata and colleagues reported that dose-dense paclitaxel once a week in combination with carboplatin every 3 weeks for advanced ovarian cancer resulted in a significant survival advantage. The study concluded that paclitaxel and carboplatin given every 3 weeks is standard treatment for advanced ovarian carcinoma.

"This was an important addition," Dr. Morgan told Medscape Medical News........"

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Ovarian cancer – GOG 0126-T (NCI-driven study)

Preliminary analysis of GOG 0126-T trial has not shown enough activity to enter into second stage. Consequently the study will be ended.

The study

The study is an open-label single-arm phase II trial with belinostat in combination with carboplatin given to patients with ovarian cancer who progress during or shortly after first-line treatment with platinum containing chemotherapy. The trial is sponsored by the GOG with support from the NCI. Belinostat is administered as a 30-minute daily IV infusion on day one through five with carboplatin being administered on day three. Treatment is given every third week and is repeated until disease progression......

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Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News - Gastros Outperform Oncologists in Recognition of Inherited CRC (Lynch Syndrome/PJS/FAP....extracolonic tumors)

Note: access is free/requires registration

"......Overall, physicians benefited from the educational intervention, scoring significantly higher on exams about genetic testing for Lynch syndrome, FAP and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome post-test than at baseline. The education session also significantly improved physicians’ recognition of Lynch syndrome family pedigrees and surveillance of the disease, but did not effectively enhance awareness of extra-colonic manifestations.

Although the educational intervention improved the ability of physicians to identify families with multiple members affected by CRC, it did not help them spot extra-colonic cancers in families with Lynch syndrome. Identifying extra-colonic cancers is important because Lynch syndrome increases a person’s risk for endometrial cancer and is associated with cancers of the stomach (6%-9%); ovaries (6%-12%); and ureter and renal pelvis (3%-8%) (and others), according to the Colon Cancer Alliance for Research and Education for Lynch Syndrome...........cont'd

"Ms. (Kate) Murphy has survived ovarian and breast cancer as well as three episodes of colon cancer."

abstract: Revised Bethesda Guidelines: compliance in identifying HNPCC affected families (Lynch Syndrome)

Conclusion
Based on these results, there is a marked incompliance with revised Bethesda guidelines when assessing patients with colorectal cancer. This has a significant impact on clinical pathways for the management of HNPCC  (Lynch Syndrome) families.