Today's Globe: prostate test questions, Cape hospital cuts, E. coli, kids' menus, West Nile drug, FDA advisers

The blood test millions of men undergo each year to screen for prostate cancer leads to so much unnecessary anxiety, surgery, and complications that doctors should stop testing elderly men, and it remains unclear whether the test is worthwhile for younger men, a federal task force concluded yesterday.

Cape Cod Healthcare yesterday said it will cut 169 jobs, or nearly 4 percent of its workforce, as part of a sweeping financial makeover intended to add as much as $40 million to the hospital system in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

Federal and state health officials are investigating the cases of six people in Massachusetts who were sickened by a virulent strain of E. coli that appears linked to those found in several other states, officials said yesterday.

Healthy children's meals at top restaurant chains are slim pickings, according to a report by a nonprofit public health group.

Genzyme Corp.'s failed AIDS drug, Mozobil, helped fight West Nile virus in mice, suggesting it might also work in humans against the brain-infecting malady for which there's no vaccine or cure, a study showed (fourth item).

The Food and Drug Administration won't include outside specialists on its advisory panels if they have a personal financial stake of more than $50,000 in a company affected by a matter under discussion, the agency said yesterday.