Health Report

By Sources GOOD: annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Associated Press; Blood BAD: New England Journal of Medicine; Journal of Occupational Medicine; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

THE GOOD NEWS

-- An experimental technique has proved to be 90% effective in identifying malignancies in women who have breast cancer. Called scintimammography, the procedure involves injecting a radioactive tracer into the blood, and researchers say it might reduce the need for biopsies.

-- A new technique could offer hope to those leukemia patients who can't currently receive bone-marrow transplants -- often lifesaving procedures. In a study, doctors improved the odds for a successful transplant by adding a dose of marrow cells called stem cells to the donor's marrow, thus increasing the chances that it will be compatible with the patient's.

THE BAD NEWS

-- A new study claims that the ability of radiologists to interpret mammograms varies widely and that the doctors miss a disturbingly high number of malignancies.

-- Women who work in the telephone industry may be at increased risk of dying from cancer, according to a new report. The risk varies with age, race and job ! title; those at greatest danger appear to be engineers, technicians and office workers ages 25 to 50. A possible explanation: above-average exposure to high- tech equipment.

-- If a recent government study is correct, male smokers are 50% more likely to suffer from impotence than nonsmokers.