Sharon Worcester is an award-winning medical journalist for MDedge News. She has been with the company since 1996, first as the Southeast Bureau Chief (1996-2009) when the company was known as International Medical News Group, then as a freelance writer (2010-2015) before returning as a reporter in 2015. She previously worked as a daily newspaper reporter covering health and local government. Sharon currently reports primarily on oncology and hematology. She has a BA from Eckerd College and an MA in Mass Communication/Print Journalism from the University of Florida. Connect with her via LinkedIn and follow her on twitter @SW_MedReporter.
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Hypertension Early in Life Drives Up Mortality Risk Later
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: After adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking, and physical activity level at study entry, individuals from the large cohort...
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Tocilizumab Efficacy and Safety for sJIA Sustained at 2 Years
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: The proportion of the patients who achieved the efficacy end point of ACR Pedi 70 and ACR Pedi 90 at 104 weeks of treatment was 88...
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TEAR Trial Validates Methotrexate First Strategy for Early RA
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: Of 379 patients who received methotrexate monotherapy, 28% achieved a DAS28 below 3.2.
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FREEDOM Extension: Denosumab Remains Safe, Effective up to 6 Years
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: In the first 3 years of the extension trial, those in the long-term treatment group experienced additional, statistically...
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Home-Based Postop Therapy Acceptable After Total Knee Replacement
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: The WOMAC function scores at postoperative week 10 were similar at a mean of 44.0, 39.32, and 35.0 in the one-on-one patients, the...
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Novel Anti-GM-CSFR Monoclonal Antibody Shows Promise in RA
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: During the 12-week, dose-ranging study, 55.7% of 149 patients who received 10, 30, 50, or 100 mg of active treatment achieved the...
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Novel CCR-1 Antagonist Shows Promise in RA
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: ACR20 response rates among day 1 eligible subjects in an intention-to-treat analysis were 56%, 44%, and 30%, in the 200-mg, 100-mg...
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New Lupus Nephritis Guidelines Will Address Therapy
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
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MTX + Prednisone Regimen Improves Outcomes for Early RA
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: Of 119 patients from who were randomized to receive methotrexate plus 10 mg/day of prednisone from the start of therapy, 78% were...
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Fewer Visits Don't Jeopardize Melanoma Patient Care
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: Compared with the 2008 Australia and New Zealand guidelines for monitoring, the novel schedule, which required almost 3,000 fewer...
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Older Women Shortchanged on Gains in Breast Cancer Survival
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: Between 1990 and 2007 the breast cancer death rate in the general population declined by 2.5% per year among women aged 20-49 years...
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ADHD Drugs Showed No Risk of Cardiovascular Events
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: In nearly 2.6 million person-years of follow-up, including more than 373,000 person-years of current use of ADHD drugs, neither...
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AAP Policy Statements Address Substance Use, HIV Risk
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
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PLCO Trial: Chest Radiograph Screening Fails to Reduce Lung Cancer Mortality
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: The number of lung cancer deaths was 1,213 in the group randomized to receive screening with annual chest radiographs and 1,230 in...
News
Foley Catheter Appears Safer than Prostaglandin E2 Gel for Labor Induction
- Author:
- Sharon Worcester
Major Finding: Cesarean section, most often done for failure to progress during the first stage of labor, was performed in 23% of 411 women...