October 30, 2005

Another ill-advised use of "cure"

When are journalists and scientists going to learn? "Cure" just isn't an acceptable term to use in describing test tube research, unless you're talking about a new way to treat ham.

An Associated Press story Friday began: "Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School are part of a team that has discovered a possible cause of prostate cancer, a finding they say could result in better forms of treatment or possibly a cure."

Maybe this is an important finding. Maybe years from now it will lead to a treatment. But cure? It's a bit premature to talk about possible cures when you haven't even treated one person based on the new finding.

Posted by schwitz at October 30, 2005 01:30 PM | TrackBack
Comments

A cure for ham cancer? Finally!

Posted by: Franchise at November 3, 2005 03:55 PM
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.