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MONDAY, April 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental targeted drug could provide a fresh chance for people with recurring head and neck cancer that has grown resistant to other treatments, a new clinical trial says.Ficlatuzumab used in combination with the already approved targeted drug cetuximab (Erbitux) significantly improved progression-free survival in relapsed head and neck cancer patients, according to results from a phase II trial.The results are particularly encouraging because the ficlatuzumab/cetuximab combo only worked in patients whose cancers aren’t driven by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, said lead researcher Dr. Julie Bauman, director of the GW Cancer Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.“People with HPV-positive virally driven...

MONDAY, April 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The first season of "The Last of Us" may be over, but many folks have been left with an abiding fear of fungal infections.Some of that fear might be well-founded in real life: A cluster of the fungal infection blastomycosis was found in dogs and humans in Wisconsin in 2022, which led to serious health consequences, U.S. health officials report. Blastomycosis is caused by a fungus called Blastomyces, which lives in moist soil and decomposing wood and leaves.Most people who breathe in the spores don’t get sick, but some who do develop symptoms like fever and cough, and the infection can sometimes become serious, even fatal, if it is not treated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the Wisconsin outbreak, two...

MONDAY, April 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- People at risk of heart disease could extend their lives by going Mediterranean or low-fat, according to a new analysis of popular diets.In the world of nutrition and disease, dietary fat is an often confusing subject. And in general, experts say, recent years have seen a move away from prescribing a strict amount of dietary fat, and more focus on the source of that fat: Is it from healthful foods like olive oil and nuts, or from burgers and fries?Still, the new analysis found some wins for low-fat eating.Across 40 published clinical trials, those that tested low-fat diets showed that they helped prevent heart attacks and premature deaths among people at elevated risk. That included people who'd already suffered a heart attack or stroke, and...

MONDAY, April 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Texting and driving can be deadly. Holding your phone in your hand to talk and surfing the internet while behind the wheel is dangerous, too. This is widely known, but a new survey finds that about half of all respondents still use an electronic device most or every time they drive.“I'd say it's not as much surprising as it is frustrating,” said Adam Snider, a spokesman for the nonprofit Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which wasn’t involved in the study but issued a news release after it was released. “Distracted driving is something that is incredibly pervasive.” In the survey, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), more than 2,000 licensed drivers were asked how much they agreed with dozens of...