BMJ  2003;327:344 (9 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7410.344

Letter

Industry funding of patients' support groups

Declaration of competing interests is rare in Italian breast cancer associations

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Herxheimer reported and commented on relationships between pharmaceutical companies and consumers' and patients' associations.¹ This is a "hot" topic: the debate on transparency of fund raising for voluntary health associations is far from being resolved, and consumers' umbrella associations have an increasingly important role in discussing health at a European level.

In Italy, at least among the 100 breast cancer associations belonging to the Italian forum of Europa Donna,^{2 3} transparency of fund raising is rarely discussed and few data are available. Using a standardised self administered questionnaire on the characteristics of breast cancer associations, sponsored in part by Komen Italia Onlus, we collected some information on the sponsorship relations of 67 breast cancer associations. Most of the funds come from individual donations, and one third of breast cancer associations received funds from pharmaceutical companies (box).

In the same survey we also asked whether breast cancer associations had prepared . . . [Full text of this article]

Outcome Research Unit, Istituto di Ricerche, Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Eritrea 62, I-20157 Milan, Italy mosconi@marionegri.it on behalf of the Italian Forum of Europa Donna

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Mintzes, B. (2007). Should patient groups accept money from drug companies? No. BMJ 334: 935-935 [Full text]