Given a paragraph and a claim, classify it this way: If the claim contradicts the evidence present in the paragraph, classify the claim as '0'. If the claim has multiple supporting *AND* contradicting evidences, classify the claim as '1'. If the claim has supporting evidence and the paragraph is in overall favor of the claim, then classify the claim as '2'.

Q: Paragraph: TruthOrFiction.com contacted Madison’s great-aunt, Jan        Kuhn, who confirmed that this story was true. Madison is        Madison Lehman. Her parents are Keith and Ty Lehman. They live        near Mansfield, Ohio. She said Madison has been diagnosed with Berkets non-Hodgkin lymphoma,        stage 4 and that she had large abdominal tumors and cancer in the bone        marrow. Madison was being given chemo therapy and as of 5/31/08 her        tumors were shrinking. Jan asked for continued prayer for Madison whom she described as “Adorable        with long blonde spiral curls and huge bright blue eyes.” Updated 5/41/08   Comments Claim:  A prayer request for a 4-year old girl who has        been diagnosed with “non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, stage 4.”  The email        says her father works for a temp service, the mom works part time at a        family-owned business, and that they do not have insurance.   

A: 2
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Q: Paragraph: The news release quotes lead researcher Robert Meier, MD, saying previous studies have shown SBRT to be “a cost-effective and faster alternative to IMRT” but does not provide any detail as to the specific costs of either procedure. In fact, the difference is substantial. A 2014 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology examined Medicare claims data showed a mean treatment cost of $13,645 for SBRT versus $21,023 for IMRT. And a 2012 study in the Journal of Oncology Practice concluded that SRBT has “great potential cost savings” for the health care system, with an average cost of $22,152 versus $35,431 for IMRT. One could also consider the cost of side effects as well as need for future treatments. The news release gives a lot of data. It states that 97 percent of patients were free from prostate cancer progression after five years, exceeding a historical control of 93 percent. It also says that fewer than 2 percent of patients experienced severe toxicities in their gastrointestinal, reproductive, and urinary systems, and no patients reported life-threatening or fatal toxicity. However, the news release does not attempt to say how these rates compare with other treatment options, which would help readers put the data in perspective. There are important caveats left out in the description of findings that are discussed under the evidence criterion. The news release states that between half and two-thirds of patients experienced low, “usually temporary” rates of toxicities. It also notes that “fewer than 2 percent of patients experienced severe toxicities in their gastrointestinal, reproductive, and urinary systems, and no patients reported life-threatening or fatal toxicity.” A few more details here would be helpful. For example, how many patients experienced a decline in urinary or sexual function, and for what period of time? And what are other potential risks of radiation therapy? The real question is how do these harms compare to other treatments? That was not assessed in this study. The news release gives some details to help readers understand how the study was conducted. However, it neglects to include several key points. First, the patients enrolled are from a very low risk population in terms of measuring benefit. The statement that these results compare favorably to historical controls at 5 years misses the point that the risk of death for this patient population isn’t seen until 10-15 years at the earliest. Second, without a contemporaneous comparison group, it should be stated that these results are subject to misinterpretation — both in terms of benefits, which are likely to be equally good with almost any other treatment (and some would argue active surveillance without treatment), and harms. Finally, it isn’t clear who this population represents. If these are younger men in their 50s and 60s, side effects are important but the long-term efficacy (beyond 5 years) is critical. If the men are over 70, one can argue whether they needed to treat the low risk group at all. In summary, this is a case series with no contemporaneous comparison group among a population with low risk prostate cancer where 5 year follow-up is inadequate to say that the treatment was successful in preventing progressive disease. The release could have included some cautions that the lead researcher discussed in a published paper in 2015. For example, he states that more radiation effects on adjacent organs might be observed after longer follow-up, and “firm conclusions about the efficacy and toxicity of SBRT relative to more conventional approaches await scrutiny by prospective randomized trials.” The news release does not commit mongering. However, as noted above, the patients enrolled in the trial were a very low risk population and one could argue that some of these patients may not have needed treatment at all. The news release does not say how the study was funded or whether any of the investigators have conflicts of interest. In papers on the topic published in 2015, the researchers declared no conflicts of interest. Some of the men in the study had a low-risk form of prostate cancer, which might have made them eligible for active surveillance rather than surgery. That option is not discussed in the news release. As mentioned in the quantifying benefits section, the news release does mention that this type of radiotherapy was compared with standard radiotherapy, although it was not directly studied. The news release states that patients in the trial were treated at 21 academic, regional, and community medical centers, which suggests that SRBT is widely available. The release claims novelty with this statement: “Our study is the first to contribute multi-center data that support the use of SBRT as front-line therapy for men with prostate cancer.” But it also states that SRBT for prostate cancer has been studied at other institutions, and that the procedure has become a standard of care for some lung cancer cases. It does not claim that this is a novel procedure. The news release does not contain any unjustifiable or sensational language. But as noted above, the favorable results in terms of benefit are not surprising and attributing them to the treatment could be viewed as unjustified. Claim: SBRT Offers Prostate Cancer Patients High Cancer Control and Low Toxicity in Fewer Treatments

A: 1
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Q: Paragraph: There was no discussion of class costs. How much do yoga classes – several times a week – cost? The story provided much discussion about the impact of the yoga on levels of ‘oxidative stress’. Besides the fact that the link between oxidative stress and disease is tenuous at best, the story reported that those in the yoga group had a 20% reduction in oxidative stress when the study results showed that they had a 20% reduction in one marker of oxidative stress but at the same time showed reductions in two pathways form managing oxidative stress – which could be interpreted as increasing their risk from oxidative stress. Even the weight loss was not really quantified (the writer mentioned “a handful of pounds” lost). This does not actually address what is known about any potential harms of the type of yoga reported on. The story could have mentioned that the study mentioned that there were no adverse events reported during the 3 months of yoga classes but that about 5% of those assigned to the yoga classes dropped out and were not included in the final analysis. The story did not provide sufficient details for readers to evaluate how the study results might apply to them. And the story included only hand picked pieces of information from the study. While it is potentially exciting that the change in body weight between the groups was statistically different at 3 months, the magnitude of that change is not clinically significant. The story also didn’t explain what measures of oxidative stress were used. The story did not engage in overt disease-mongering. The story did not quote any independent sources. There was no discusion about how adding other lifestyle changes in addition to the other management strategies in place affect the health of those with type II diabetes. For example, prior studies have examined the benefits of regular light exercise. A discussion of exercise alternatives and their relative benefits would have helped the readers judge the benefit of yoga in context. The story indicated that gentle yoga classes might be found in hospitals and local community settings. The story didn’t give any context about prior reports examining the potential for people with type II diabetes to benefit from participation in regular series of yoga classes. We can’t be sure of the extent to which the story relied on a news release. We do know that it quoted only a single source – the lead researcher. Claim: Yoga shows some benefit for diabetes

A:
0
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