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Lung Cancer

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BETHESDA, Md--Between 1960 and 1990, there has been a greater than 400% increase in deaths from lung cancer in women. "Women now account for about 45% of all new cases of lung cancer, a proportion that was only about 20% to 25% in the 1970s," said James Jett, MD, co-director of the Lung Cancer Program at the University of Pittsburgh.

In the United States, an estimated 178,000 new cases of lung cancer will occur in 1997, accounting for 13% of cancer diagnoses and 29% of all cancer deaths.[1] The majority of these deaths will be due to metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. Cisplatin (Platinol), vindesine (Eldisine), vinblastine, ifosfamide (Ifex), and mitomycin (Mutamycin) demonstrate response rates of 15% or higher in previously untreated patients (Table 1)

SAN DIEGO--A therapy for advanced lung cancer patients who have not responded to other treatments is showing promise in studies at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. In this phase I trial, 18 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and missing or defective copies of the tumor-suppressor p53 gene have received injections directly into their tumors of an adenovirus containing the p53 wildtype gene.

VANCOUVER, Wa--Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, yet there are no colored ribbons for survivors and supporters, no races for a cure, and until now, no day, week, or month dedicated to lung cancer awareness.

BOCA RATON, Fla--Docetaxel (Taxotere) is showing promising single-agent activity in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), said James Rigas, MD, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Dart-mouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, NH).

NEW YORK--Cancer Care, Inc. is offering a new booket, Learning About Lung Cancer: It Helps to Understand, that attempts to close the "information gap" with regard to how lung cancer is diagnosed and treated, as well as provide help and tips on how to cope with medical and nonmedical issues faced by lung cancer patients.

VIENNA--Although the majority of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are too ill to tolerate platinum therapy, the more benign safety profile of gemcitabine (Gemzar) is opening up the possibility of palliative chemotherapy for a wider group of NSCLC patients.

The treatment of potentially curable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is currently evolving. Drs. Greco and Hainsworth provide information about the potential use of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery in patients with stage IB-IV NSCLC. The authors have taken on the challenging task of summarizing recent clinical research, referencing current clinical studies, and providing some predictions on the outcomes of ongoing clinical investigation.

In recent years, the treatment of many patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has evolved into a multidisciplinary effort combining the talents of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and thoracic surgeons. Prospective, randomized trials have demonstrated improved survival rates in patients with locally advanced disease who are treated with cisplatin (Platinol)-based induction chemotherapy prior to radiation therapy[1,2] or surgery.[3,4] However, interpretation of these and other studies and application of the findings to the management of an individual patient require a thorough understanding of prognostic factors and staging.

ROCKVILLE, Md-The FDA has given final approval to the Xillix LIFE-Lung Fluorescence Endoscopy System for use in detecting early lung cancer. Xillix Technologies Corp., of Richmond, British Columbia, plans to market the system worldwide in early 1997.

Patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy live longer, on average, than patients treated with radiation therapy alone, according to results of a long-term follow-up study by Robert O. Dillman, md, and colleagues at the Hoag Cancer Center, Newport Beach, California. In the study report appearing in the September 4th issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the authors recommend that cisplatin (Platinol)-based chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy be considered the current standard treatment for advanced (stage III) disease.

Gemcitabine (Gemzar), recently approved by the FDA as a treatment IND for patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, has shown promise in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), both as a single agent and in combination with other chemotherapy drugs, Alan Sandler, md, reported at a symposium held at the Chemotherapy Foundation meeting last year.