Oncology NEWS International Vol 15 No 4

April 01, 2006

Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson have initiated a randomized, phase II open-label study of the potential benefit of combining two targeted therapies with different mechanisms of action—bortezomib (Velcade) and pemetrexed (Alimta, Eli Lilly)—in previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

April 01, 2006

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Board of Directors has announced the 12th Annual Oncology Nursing Day and Month celebration to recognize oncology nurses and to increase awareness of the specialty.

April 01, 2006

The decline in total cancer mortality in the United States that began in 2003 looks set to continue and even accelerate as more research moves "from bench to bedside"—unless the basic and translational science feeding that change is strangled by budget cuts and red tape, according to experts at the 11th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

April 01, 2006

Surveillance screening for colon and breast cancer appears to diminish 5 years after the original diagnosis.

April 01, 2006

The FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) declined to recommend that the agency approve Gemzar (gemcitabine, Eli Lilly) in combination with carboplatin for the treatment of patients with advanced ovarian cancer that has relapsed at least 6 months after completion of platinum-based therapy.

April 01, 2006

Reimbursements for oncology practices have fallen sharply since 2003, and cash flow is becoming a major concern for community cancer clinics.

April 01, 2006

Two analyses from the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG) MA.17 letrozole (Femara) trial strongly support the ability of this aromatase inhibitor to significantly reduce disease recurrence among postmenopausal women previously treated with tamoxifen.

April 01, 2006

A previously unknown virus, a xenotropic murine-like retrovirus or XMRV, has been shown to be 30 times more common in men with prostate cancer who are homozygous for a defect in the HPC1 gene than in men without the mutation

April 01, 2006

The FDA has approved the use of Taxotere (docetaxel, Sanofi-Aventis) in combination with cisplatin and fluorouracil (5-FU) for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer, including cancer of the gastroesophageal junction, in patients who have not received prior chemotherapy for their advanced disease.

April 01, 2006

Medicare Part D, the outpatient prescription drug plan that went into effect on January 1, is having a major impact on community oncology practices as they struggle to deal with widespread confusion as well as the extra requirements imposed by the private plans.

April 01, 2006

President Bush has nominated NCI director Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD, as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

April 01, 2006

Ten-year results from the TAM-01 trial indicate that maximal benefits of tamoxifen are achieved within 5 to 6 years of treatment.

April 01, 2006

The FDA has approved the marketing of the first new drug for the treatment of head and neck cancer in nearly half a century and granted it two indications.

April 01, 2006

Medical students and oncology fellows alike benefit from special training in psychological oncology that is integrated into their didactic curriculum in medical school, according to results from a 1-year pilot project.

April 01, 2006

In a phase III trial, posaconazole (Noxafil Oral Suspension), an investigational broad-spectrum triazole antifungal, significantly reduced the incidence of serious invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and of aspergillosis, and demonstrated a survival benefit, compared with standard azole antifungal treatment in high-risk neutropenic patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy.

April 01, 2006

Compared with surgery alone, the triple combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery is associated with a more than doubling of overall survival and a more than tripling of progression-free survival in patients with resectable esophageal cancer, according to a randomized trial presented at the 2006 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (abstract 4).

April 01, 2006

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has begun the largest, most comprehensive effort to identify genetic risk factors for two major cancers, a 3-year initiative aimed at deciphering which genetic alterations put people at increased risk of developing breast and prostate cancer.

April 01, 2006

Age alone should not be a contraindication to FOLFOX4 chemotherapy in older adults with colorectal cancer.

April 01, 2006

Biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosing breast cancer in women whose mammograms or physical exams yield abnormal findings, according to a new federal report

April 01, 2006

Two studies presented at the 28th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium suggest researchers are getting closer to developing patient-specific prognostic assays for breast cancer recurrence.

April 01, 2006

Neuropsychologists play a key role in helping identify cognitive issues in childhood cancer survivors and in developing rehabilitation programs to increase their functioning, Lisa A. Jackson, PhD, said at the Cancer in the Classroom meeting hosted by Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

April 01, 2006

The FDA has given priority review status to Celgene Corporation's supplemental new drug application for lenalidomide (Revlimid) in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

April 01, 2006

Psychosocial factors influence life-or-death eligibility decisions in bone marrow transplant (BMT) procedures, and yet there is a serious lack of consensus as to what these factors are and how they should be weighted.

April 01, 2006

The FDA has granted priority review to dasatinib (BMS-354825), developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, for treatment of imatinib (Gleevec)-resistant or refractory chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in adults.

April 01, 2006

Liver transplantation is lifesaving in patients with localized hepatocellular carcinoma, with some 75% of transplant recipients still alive 5 years later, compared with only 12% of other patients, finds the first large population-based study of this treatment for this disease.

April 01, 2006

Concomitant administration of rituximab (Rituxan) and chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (CVP) appears effective in patients with stage III-IV follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).