what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

A new experimental drug developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medarex extends the lives of patients with advanced melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, researchers said.

The original article can be found at: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/1064887/drug-expected-to-help-cancer-sufferers

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what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This disorganised article opens with promise, highlighting one year and two year survival rates among over 600 people with advanced melanoma treated with an antibody, ipilimumab, in a multicentre radomised controlled study. While the survival rates exceed those achieved with the comparator treatment, the writer did not mention that some patients suffer particularly severe side effects. In fact, 14 people in the trial died of side effects. Advanced melanoma is a tragic disease and any advance in treatment is welcome, however, the overall survival benefit over comparator treatment was of the order of months and this information was buried at the end of the article. The median survival was 10 months for patients on ipilimumab versus 6.4 months for those on the comparator. It is early days for this treatment and the writer would have done well to highlight this. Australian expert comment was missing.

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