Research on prostate cancer appeared to have gained momentum with scientists claiming that they have managed to identify the genes that determine the likelihood of a man surviving the disease.

Men with three specific gene defects have a lower survival rate with most of them dying within 11 years of contracting the cancer. Conversely, men who had none had an
85% chance of making recovery. This groundbreaking research could see new medical developments in this area based on the conclusions.

In other news reports, GP locum is gaining an increasing number of detractors with the Medical Defense Union statistics showing a significant growth in the number of complaints against the treatment. Compared to the 337 complaints logged in two years back, 2007-2008 saw 517 dissatisfied patients.

According to Dr Stephen Green, the head of risk management at MDU, “Compared to the many millions of patients who are seen out of hours each year, the number of complaints notified to us by our members is small. However out of hours care continues to represent a significant and growing proportion of the complaints we see”.