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The bcl-2 gene is overexpressed in 80% to 90% of patients with follicular NHL. The product of this gene, the bcl-2 protein, not only protects cells from apoptosis but also induces a form of acquired resistance to a wide array of chemotherapy agents (Kitada et al: Blood 91:3379-3389, 1998).

Early reports suggested that therapy with rituximab might be less effective in patients with bulky nodal disease. At the ASH meeting, Davis et al (abstract #1711) reported on 31 patients with indolent NHL and masses measuring ³ 10 cm who received rituximab in four weekly infusions. Of the 31 patients, 1 patient (4%) had a complete remission, and 11 patients responded partially, for an overall response rate of 43%. However, the duration of response was only 8.1 months.

The results published to date with Bexxar and IDEC-Y2B8 have been very promising. Bexxar is an iodine-131 anti-CD20 conjugate which, in a single-institution study including previously treated patients, achieved a response rate of 79%, including a 50% complete remission rate (Kaminski et al: J Clin Oncol 14:1974-1981, 1996), with complete remissions lasting a median of more than 16.5 months. Among previously treated patients, 71% achieved a complete remission and 39% attained a partial remission, for an overall response rate of 100%. The complete remissions lasted 3 to 17+ months (Kaminski et al : Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol 17:2a [abstract 6], 1998).

The low-grade NHLs remain incurable with conventional therapies. A variety of new, unique agents are being evaluated, which, hopefully, will improve these results. The purine analogs, particularly fludarabine (Fludara), have shown impressive activity in these patients and have become part of the standard treatment armamentarium. In patients who have not responded to an alkylating agent, fludarabine achieves a 12% to 15% complete remission rate with an overall response rate of about 50%. When used as initial therapy, fludarabine produces a complete remission in almost 40% of patients and an overall response rate of 60% to 70% (Solal-Céligny: J Clin Oncol 14:514-519, 1996).

Rituximab is highly effective in eradicating detectable lymphoma cells from the peripheral blood and bone marrow of patients with follicular NHL and can render most patientsPCR-negative. Several studies at ASH evaluated the ability of this antibody to provide effective in vivo purging, permitting the harvesting of large numbers of PCR-negative stem cells for autologous BMT (Gianni et al, abstract #481; Buckstein et al, abstract #2672). Engraftment has been successful in the few patients transplanted to date (Flinn et al, abstract #2673). Obviously, longer follow-up of larger numbers of patients is needed to better evaluate the long-term impact of this approach.

Pediatric soft-tissue sarcomas are managed with a multimodality treatment program that includes surgery, chemotherapy, and external-beam radiotherapy (teletherapy). The use of teletherapy in young children can

BACKGROUND: Extended-field radiotherapy is effective in patients with early-stage Hodgkin’s disease, and more than

PITTSBURGH-The addition of tamoxifen (Nolvadex) to lumpectomy plus radiation therapy in women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) significantly reduces the 5-year cumulative incidence of recurrent invasive ipsilateral breast tumors, Norman Wolmark, MD, chairman of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), said at the San Antonio Symposium.

PARIS-Neoadjvant chemotherapy with the combination of paclitaxel (Taxol) and doxorubicin gave a pathologic complete response rate of 16% in a phase II randomized multicenter French clinical trial of women with previously untreated breast cancers.

ATHENS-Early results from a phase III multicenter study suggest that the major dose-limiting side effects of irinotecan (Camptosar) in colon cancer-neutropenia and delayed diarrhea developing 24 hours after administration-can be controlled by the use of G-CSF (Neupogen).

MADISON, Wisconsin-The addition of interferon-alfa to the COPA regimen (cyclophosphamide, 600 mg/m²; vincristine, 1.2 mg/m²; prednisone, 100 mg; and doxorubicin, 50 mg/m²) improves survival in patients with clinically aggressive low- and intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), Richard Smalley, MD, of Synertron, Inc., said at the American Society of Hematology meeting. He presented 10-year follow-up results of an ECOG trial begun in 1986.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan-A radiolabeled monoclonal antibody was more effective than previous chemotherapy had been in more than half of patients with indolent lymphomas, in a study reported at the American Society of Hematology meeting.

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Nearly half of the symptoms associated with cancer are gastrointestinal (GI), including anorexia, weight loss, dry mouth, constipation, early satiety, nausea and vomiting, taste change, and dysphagia. Yet these symptoms are among the most difficult to treat because their pathophysiology is not well understood, available drugs are not always effective, and multiple symptoms may occur together, Kristine A. Nelson, MD, said at a symposium on palliative medicine held at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

BALTIMORE-Fludarabine (Fludara) and cyclophosphamide are highly active agents for indolent lymphomas, but when given in combination, opportunistic infections such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and herpes zoster may be dose limiting.

NEW YORK-The addition of G-CSF (Neupogen) to standard CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) may improve disease outcome in elderly patients with large-cell lymphoma by allowing optimal drug dosing, Gerard Donnelly, MD, said at the Fortieth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

WASHINGTON-One major problem in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer is that tumors may become resistant to endocrine therapy, even if estrogen/progesterone (ER/PR) receptors remain. Furthermore, some tumor cells appear to be stimulated by the treatment itself. “An antagonist can act as an agonist,” Kathryn B. Horwitz, PhD, said at a basic science symposium sponsored by the National Foundation for Cancer Research.

SAN DIEGO-With several new ultrasensitive HIV viral load assays soon to be available, Jonathan Schapiro, MD, questioned to what degree they will be able to predict or help physicians manage clinical HIV resistance. “We will be seeing both genotypic and phenotypic resistance assays for use with zidovudine [Retrovir], abacavir [investigational], and protease inhibitor resistance,” he said at ICAAC.

GAITHERSBURG, Md-The Food and Drug Administration’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has advised Zila, Inc., to take OraTest (tolonium chloride) back to the clinic for further testing. But members disagreed whether continuation of an ongoing clinical trial could provide the data necessary for the group to recommend approval of the test for detecting oral cancer, or if the company needs to undertake an entirely new study.

HOUSTON-The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) is approved for treatment of relapsed or refractory low-grade or follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but is less effective in small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), the tissue equivalent of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In the pivotal trial, the response rate for SLL patients was 13% vs 60% for those with follicular lymphoma.

SOUTHAMPTON, UK-New immunotherapeutic agents often come with big price tags, but the costs of treating relapsed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) with a new anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody may be lower than the costs of conventional therapy, according to an economic analysis by UK researchers. This was because the antibody (rituximab, Rituxan) caused fewer side effects and thus had lower costs related to adverse events, John Sweetenham, MD, reported at an ASH poster session.

SAN FRANCISCO-“The onset of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) has dramatically changed the epidemiology of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, leading to a 90% to 95% reduction in incidence among patients with AIDS,” W. Lawrence Drew, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, said at a conference on globally emerging viral infections.

SAN FRANCISCO-Recombinant human thrombopoietin (TPO) plus G-CSF (Neupogen) helps mobilize stem cells for collection better than G-CSF alone, Charles Linker, MD, said at the Fortieth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). In addition to showing efficacy in stem cell mobilization, the trial had a number of secondary objectives.

ROCHESTER, Minnesota-IDEC-Y2B8, an anti-CD20 murine monoclonal antibody (MoAB) conjugated to the radioisotope yttrium-90, appears to be effective in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients with splenomegaly, Thomas Witzig, MD, said at an ASH poster session. Some have considered splenomegaly a contraindication to MoAB therapy because of theoretical concerns about the spleen acting as an “antibody sink,” limiting efficacy.

MIAMI BEACH-Bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants after high-dose chemotherapy are becoming more widely used, but there is no standard method of purging graft material to remove tumor cells prior to transplant.

WASHINGTON-Walden-ström’s macroglobulinemia is a rare low-grade B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Patients with Waldenström’s also often have small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). Hyperviscosity in Waldenström’s responds temporarily to plasmapheresis. Alkylator therapy, fludarabine (Fludara), and cladribine (Leustatin) are effective in many cases, but there are no good options for patients refractory to purine analogs.

PORTLAND, Oregon-A phase III study presented at the ASH meeting shows that oprel-vekin (rhIL-11, Neumega) effectively prevents severe chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Additional benefits included accelerated neutrophil recovery and fewer cases of neutropenic fever.

RESTON, Virginia-A new Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study will determine if the drug thalidomide combined with radiation therapy will lengthen the survival time and time to recurrence in adults with glioblastoma multiforme, the most malignant type of brain tumor.

Administering cytarabine at levels substantially higher than the standard dose can cure nearly five times as many patients who have a certain type of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study.

In a session targeting novice bone marrow transplant (BMT) nurses, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) outlined what nurses should expect in treating BMT cases, from pretransplant to posttransplant, as well as related insurance and

PHOENIX-The poor hematopoiesis that occurs in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is due to a reduced ability to respond to growth factor stimulation. The result is that hematopoietic progenitor cells are lost faster than blood cells can be produced.