An Oregon doctor is worried that a drug company is skirting regulations by using the plot line of a popular soap opera to push its product.
The character Anna Devane in ABC's "General Hospital," has been diagnosed with polycythemia vera, an extremely rare blood cancer know as PV.
It would affect about one person in every 50,000 or roughly the entire population of Tigard, Oregon.
The story line stems from a partnership between the writers and the underwriters, Incyte Corporation, which manufactures a drug that targets PV.
OHSU physician, Dr. Vinay Prasad, expressed concern in a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association that the soap opera creates an end-run around regulations governing drug advertisements.
“If everyone who watches the show rushes off to their doctor and says, ‘Can you test me for PV?,’ you will find a lot of people who may look as if they have PV, but they don’t really," Prasad said.
"You will in fact create sort of a false epidemic of PV. And this is what people call over diagnosis or even disease mongering."
Incyte said in a statement that the partnership with "General Hospital," is in recognition of Rare Disease Day, and aims to inspire people affected by under-recognized blood cancers.