BALTIMORE--Patients choose genetic testing to help them make important life decisions, but often the risks and benefits are more complicated and less clear-cut than those of traditional medical tests, psychologist Ann-Marie Codori, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University, said at a seminar on genetic testing and counseling for adult onset disorders.
WASHINGTON--The government has upgraded its health information website, "healthfinder," adding two new sections: "Smart Choices," to tell people how to find reliable health information on the Internet, and "Just for You," to tailor information by age and ethnicity, with the aim of enabling consumers to seek information geared to children or aging parents, for example. The website can be reached at www.healthfinder.gov.
By transforming radio signals into a surgical laser, surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center are able to use high-energy radiofrequency sound waves to destroy inoperable primary and metastatic liver tumors.
The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recently received grants from Genentech, Inc., to fund two educational projects. A $96,000 grant will fund the ONS National Conference on Cancer Nursing Research to be held in 1999, and a $30,930 grant
NEW ORLEANS--The next decade will be a critical time for translating new cancer vaccine approaches into standard therapies, said Drew Pardoll, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In a talk at the plenary session of the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, Dr. Pardoll noted that antigen-based anticancer vaccines offer perhaps the most promising approach.
NEW ORLEANS--Ernst L. Wynder, MD, DSc, Dr.med.h.c., has received the seventh AACR American Cancer Society Award. Dr. Wynder is president and medical director of the American Health Foundation in New York.
SAN DIEGO--Women between the ages of 40 and 49 must still decide for themselves if undergoing a mammography is appropriate for them, according to a panel of experts at the American College of Physicians (ACP) Annual Session. The inability of key organizations to come to a decisive conclusion is the result of conflicting studies and the fact that "each organization espouses different rules of evidence," said Mary E. Costanza, MD, professor of medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School.
NEW ORLEANS--"We can reduce the incidence of a cancer with preventive interventions without understanding their mechanism of action," said Ernst L. Wynder, MD, DSc, Dr.med.h.c., president and medical director of the American Health Foundation in New York. Dr. Wynder gave the Seventh AACR American Cancer Society Award Lecture on Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting.
WASHINGTON--"The March . . . Coming Together to Conquer Cancer" rings of militancy. It has an American war hero, retired US Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, as its honorary chairman. Its monthly newsletter is subtitled "A Campaign Bulletin." And when leaders and supporters of The March held a press briefing to talk about the nationwide event scheduled for Sept. 26, the rhetoric matched.
BETHESDA, Md--Ending a clinical trial of a promising intervention may be just as difficult and delicate as starting one. The stopping point, Gilbert S. Omenn, MD, PhD, said at the American Society of Preventive Oncology meeting, applies to both the desired effect (or efficacy) and adverse effects (toxicity).
Women smokers who overestimate their body size may be more likely to continue smoking, said researchers at The Miriam Hospital in Providence. Results of a study led by Teresa K. King, PhD, of the hospital’s Center for Behavioral and
BETHESDA, Md--The National Cancer Institute has raised a red flag to the nation’s current "hot" smoking fad. It warns that daily cigar smoking can cause cancer of the lip, tongue, mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, and lung. Cigar smoking is also responsible for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary heart disease.
The Charles E. Culpeper Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 1999 Scholarships in Medical Science Program, designed to support the career development of academic physicians
WASHINGTON--President Clinton is becoming increasingly ensnared in the tobacco wars on Capitol Hill, where partisan politics and philosophical differences threaten passage of national tobacco legislation. If no bill is passed before the November elections, many believe the issue could become even more politicized.
NEW YORK--People do not generally think about their civil rights when they get cancer, but they may need them at some point in the workplace, attorney L. Susan Scelzo Slavin, of Slavin Law Firm, Jericho, NY, said during a Cancer Care, Inc. teleconference for cancer survivors.
BETHESDA, Md--The National Cancer Institute has published a new brochure and opened a new website, both designed to encourage cancer patients to enroll in clinical trials. "Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need to Know" provides an overview of cancer treatment trials and answers questions that patients might have about them. Novartis Pharmaceuticals provided partial funding for the pamphlet.
BETHESDA, Md--In theory, highly active antiretroviral therapies, or HAART, should reduce the incidence of AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) by improving the immune functioning of HIV-infected individuals. Theory appears to be working out, at least with regard to lowering the risk of KS, according to several papers presented at the NCI’s 2nd National AIDS Malignancy Conference.
Medicare will reimburse cancer patients for granisetron hydrochloride (Kytril) tablets, announced SmithKline Beecham. Granistetron is indicated for the prevention of chemo- therapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Chemotherapy can improve the quality of life of people with incurable cancer if it is administered with the understanding that, although the disease will not be eradicated, the patient can be made to feel better, said an oncologist at Stanford University Medical Center.
WASHINGTON--The House of Representatives Commerce Committee has posted 39,000 tobacco company documents on its website to allow the public to review the papers and determine for itself whether the tobacco companies are guilty of fraud for hiding knowledge of the health ramifications of smoking.
WASHINGTON--Four scientists, three from the United States and one from Australia, have been named winners of the 1998 General Motors Cancer Research Foundation prizes for individual achievement in cancer research.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla--Recently, the FDA approved recombinant interleukin-11 (rIL-11 or oprelvekin, Neumega) for the prevention of severe thrombocytopenia in cancer patients with solid tumors or lymphoma. The availability of platelet growth factors represents a significant breakthrough in oncology, and methods are needed to help incorporate these agents into clinical practice guidelines.
CHICAGO--Magic & Vanity, a Chicago-based boutique especially for female cancer survivors and patients, has launched a catalog featuring many of the unique items in its store.
BETHESDA, Md--Good informed consent improves both recruiting and compliance in clinical trials involving genetic testing, said Robert T. Croyle, PhD, associate professor of psychology, University of Utah.
WASHINGTON--Selma Schimmel, a 15-year cancer survivor, brought a message to an international audience that most of them probably never expected to hear from a radio talk-show host. She urged oncology pharmacists to launch an aggressive outreach program to let cancer patients know that pharmacists can and do answer patients’ questions about chemotherapy and its side effects.
A new study by researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, published in the May 1st issue of Cell, has identified an enzyme crucial to the production of red blood cells and platelets.
NEW ORLEANS--Colon cancer-prone mice bred to lack the cyclooxy-genase 1 (COX1) enzyme have the same reduction in tumors as those bred to lack the cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) enzyme. This result suggests that both forms of COX may encourage tumor development, according to research reported by Patricia Chulada, PhD, at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
NEW ORLEANS--In a rousing session that opened the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 89th annual meeting, scientists reviewed recent good news in the war on cancer, while activists exhorted the audience--laypeople and scientists alike--not to be complacent because more progress is needed.
NEW ORLEANS--An altered adenovirus successfully delivered a normal p53 tumor-suppressor gene to several kinds of tumors, Jo Ann Horowitz, MD, clinical project director for Oncology Clinical Research, Schering-Plough Research Institute, Kenilworth, NJ, reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The need for an article such as the one by Little et al is a clear sign that progress is occurring in the treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). Without such progress, there would be no urgent need to refine the tools currently used to evaluate the activity of KS treatment.