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Bethesda , Md--NIH director Harold Varmus has announced plants to disband the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC). The committee was formed in 1975 as a panel of 24 scientists, ethicists, and others at NIH dedicated to holding those in the field of biogenetics accountable to the public.

I will briefly comment on two points discussed by Pierce and Lichter in their thorough review: (1) the recently published Oxford overview analysis of locoregional therapies [1], and (2) which patients may benefit from postmastectomy radiotherapy.

This article provides a nice overview of HIV-associated wasting. The paper makes a number of strong points. In particular, it focuses on anorexia and decreased oral intake as key to wasting. In this vein, both the discussion by Von Roenn and Knopf and Tables 1 and 2 offer a very valuable review of the multiple reasons why HIV-infected patients may eat less. Given the many medications that we often need to use in these patients, the text discussion about the ways in which medications can result in decreased oral intake, reinforced by Table 2, is particularly useful.

The financial burden of a long-term illness such as cancer can be devastating, with as much as 66% of the costs of cancer being nonmedical[1]. These financial concerns are leading some Americans to buy insurance policies that, upon diagnosis of cancer, assist them in paying for their care.

Von Roenn and Knopf provide a balanced review of the pathophysiology and treatment options for anorexia and cachexia associated with HIV and cancer. This is an important topic that cuts across subspecialty lines and typically frustrates clinicians. Fortunately, more has probably been learned about HIV-associated cachexia during the past decade than about cancer-associated cachexia during the previous three decades and a number of treatment options have emerged. The reader may therefore benefit from a summary of the practical implications of recent research on HIV-associated wasting. Several clinical guidelines can be recommended:

Eulau and Corn provide an excellent review of the current status of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy combined with radiation therapy or surgery in the management of locally advanced prostatic cancer. They comprehensively describe the

would like to make several comments about the excellent review by Parsons et al, "Response of the Normal Eye to High-Dose Radiotherapy," which appeared in the June issue of ONCOLOGY (pp 837-852). In 1897, Chalupecky first described

In an early meta-analysis of the post-mastectomy radiotherapy trials, the use of obsolete radiotherapy techniques resulted in increased cardiac mortality. With maturation of these data and inclusion of more recent

Early intervention and attention to nutritional status are essential in patients with cachexia. Identification of reversible causes of decreased energy intake and/or weight loss is the first step in treatment. When such factors

The study of oncology and the management of patients with cancer are becoming increasingly complex. The amount of information necessary for clinicians to assimilate is staggering. This is particularly true for surgical oncologists, who must not only keep up with the most recent advances in cancer diagnosis and therapy but also with the most up-to-date surgical procedures. Cancer Surgery is a reference that provides this important material in a comprehensive and logically organized format.

DUBLIN, Ohio--Neoprobe Corporation has announced that a patent granted to Jeffrey Schlom, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, and David Colcher, PhD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, covers claims to composition of matter for a large group of second-generation monoclonal antibodies that target the tumor-associated antigen TAG-72.

ASCO--After more than a year of operating a teleoncology service, University of Kansas researchers have seen no discrepancies between consultations conducted via interactive video and subsequent on-site assessments. The University turned to teleoncology to better serve patients in sparsely settled areas of the state, Gary C. Doolittle, MD, co-director of the telemedicine service, said in his ASCO presentation in Philadelphia.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ--Confide, the first home collection HIV testing and counseling service, has received FDA approval and is now being test marketed in Texas and Florida. The test was developed by Direct Access Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary based in Bridgewater, NJ, in conjunction with Chiron Corporation.

With the goal of protecting the economic security of people with AIDS (PWAs) who decide to sell their life insurance policies to obtain cash, a group of leading advocates for PWAs met in Los Angeles on March 22 to draft a set of standards

Prior to 1981, Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was considered a rare human cancer occurring primarily among elderly Italian and Jewish men of eastern European ancestry. I wrote a review of KS research and clinical experiences that appeared in CA: A

Treatment options for patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) have changed very little over the past decade. Research has been hampered by the absence of an accepted

PALM SPRINGS, Calif--The United Kingdom, not unlike the United States, is undergoing a period of radical change in the organization of cancer services, the status of the medical professionals delivering those services, and the climate for conducting clinical research, Ann Cull, PhD, said at the American Society for Psychiatric Oncology/AIDS meeting.

WASHINGTON--Joint ventures between community hospitals and university departments of oncology can offer significant benefits to both, but not unless all parties involved understand one another and formulate a well thought out program.

A study currently underway at the Medical College of Wisconsin is looking at why farmers do or do not follow safe-use guidelines when applying pesticides and is measuring their levels of pesticide exposure

WASHINGTON--Despite increasing complaints from physicians and patients, don't look for Congress to take any action in 1996 to remedy the problems that have evolved with the growth of managed care, a key Senate aide said at the national meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).

MONTREAL--A new instrument for measuring pain intensity--the visual analogue thermometer (VAT)--developed to overcome some of the disadvantages of the conventional visual analogue scale (VAS)--has proved "valid, accurate, and clinically useful" in two studies, say Manon Choinière, PhD, of the Burn Centre, Hotel-Dieu Hospital of Montreal and the University of Montreal, and Rhonda Amsel, MSc, of the Department of Psychology, McGill University.

Physicians today are facing more ethical dilemmas as patient decisions are being based less on beneficence and more on business models of success, says Sister Patricia Talone, ethics consultant, Mercy Health Corporation of Southeastern

BETHESDA, Md--Newly available from the NIH/NCI (NIH Publication 96-4104, April 1996) is a SEER monograph entitled Racial/Ethnic Patterns of Cancer in the United States, 1988-1992.

In the United States, the implementation of antibody testing in 1985 of all donated blood for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) resulted in a substantial decrease in the transmission of HIV through blood transfusions. To further decrease

PHILADELPHIA--Forging ahead with change was the theme of the second annual meeting of the Association of Cancer Executives (ACE). And for most of the speakers, change meant adapting to the new reality of managed care and hospital mergers.

PHILADELPHIA--During his tenure at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Lawrence Shulman, MD, has been involved in two hospital mergers. The first, with Massachusetts General Hospital, was done in secrecy, while the latest, with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been an open process.

This timely and informative review describes the components of a cost-effectiveness analysis and provides useful commentary on various ways to measure them. It may be helpful, however, to take a step back and compare cost-effectiveness analysis to the other basic approaches to economic analysis.

WASHINGTON--In an experiment that may blur the line between therapeutic and preventive medications, researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, plan to move a novel new compound to phase II testing in advanced cancer patients.

WASHINGTON--Employers, who first embraced managed care as a way to lower health care costs, are now joining together in buying coalitions to extract even greater price reductions from organizations such as HMOs from whom they purchase health care insurance for their employees.

It used to take Mike Natishak, Sr., his wife Mary Alice, and their 9-year-old son Mike Jr., 6 hours to make the weekly drive from their home in Apalachin, NY, to Boston Children's Hospital. They had to stay over at a hotel to be at the hospital the next morning. So in addition to travel expenses, the Natishaks each lost 2 days of work.