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The Position Statement on the Use of Placebos for Pain Management in Patients with Cancer, developed recently by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), has been endorsed by 24 nursing and other healthcare organizations.

BUFFALO, NY--The Medicaid Managed Care Act of 1996 and the pending 1115B waiver in New York State would mandate that all Medicaid recipients be transferred to managed health care plans. (Such transfers are currently voluntary.) In New York State, more than 65% of persons with HIV are either in Medicaid or are Medicaid-pending.

CHICAGO--Cellular tumor bio-markers may be able to identify patients with N1 non-small-cell lung adenocarcin-oma who could achieve better survival and control of metastasis through aggressive adjuvant therapy, Ritsuko Komaki, MD, said at the Radiological Society of North America meeting.

NEW YORK--Good communication about the dying process can reduce fear and promote decision-making, but accurate information about resuscitation and artificial hydration and feeding is often not communicated, Judith C. Ahronheim, MD, said during a teleconference on communication of end-of-life issues organized by Cancer Care, Inc.

A test measuring the status of DNA multiplication in tumor cells (ploidy), along with other known predictors of treatment response, could provide guidance in selecting chemotherapy for infants with neuroblastoma, the most common childhood

PARIS--Detection rates of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) have soared thanks to mammography but, to date, only one randomized trial has attempted to quell the resulting therapeutic turmoil. Now, eight-year follow-up results from that NSABP trial indicate that the advantages of breast irradiation following local excision continue to be maintained over the long term. "All patients benefit from radiation," Bernard Fisher, MD, scientific director of the NSABP, said at the Seventh International Congress on Anti-Cancer Treatment (ICACT). "The most optimal prevention of second ipsilateral breast tumors is free specimen margins and post-lumpectomy radiation."

CHICAGO--Investigators at the John Wayne Cancer Center, Santa Mon-ica, Calif, have discovered a lipid that appears to be unique to multidrug-resistant (MDR) cancers.

The first 15 years of the AIDS pandemic can be summarized simply by the oxymoron "constant change." The syndrome unfailingly has presented new challenges and demanded nearly continual refinement of our patterns of management. In the future, progressively more effective antiretroviral therapy paradoxically may permit infected patients to live longer and fall victim to more HIV-related and HIV-independent malignancies. Swift's review of the role of radiation therapy in the setting of HIV infection therefore provides a useful "snapshot" of current standards and a necessary warning of likely changes to come. Several points warrant emphasis.

Concerns over the rising costs of health care in the United States have recently focused attention on the young discipline of health services research.

Anal carcinomas are an uncommon group of heterogeneous lesions that have represented a therapeutic enigma for many years. The mere rarity of these cancers alone has proven to be a major impediment to the formulation of a standardized

With the introduction of increasingly effective antiretroviral agents for the management of AIDS, the life expectancy of appropriately treated patients will continue to lengthen, as will the length of time during which infected patients may develop malignancies, both HIV-related and non-HIV-related. The management of such patients will require careful consideration of the impact of all oncologic therapy on the immune system's ability to hold the virus at bay. Radiation therapy, with its recognized immunosuppressive effects, plays an important role in the management of the major AIDS-defining neoplasms, Kaposi's sarcoma, primary central nervous system lymphoma, and cervical carcinoma, and is used in approximately 50% of patients with non-HIV-related malignancies at some point in the disease course. The judicious use of radiation therapy and proper integration of aggressive antiretroviral therapy can result in control of malignancies without contributing to the rapid progression of HIV disease. [ONCOLOGY 11(5):683-694, 1997]

BETHESDA, Md--Managed care, more than other types of medical coverage, imposes a "hassle factor" on oncologists and their patients, and restrains patients from participating in clinical trials, a survey by the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has found.

Those of us who have been involved in medicine for a number of years can remember a time when physicians were the ones who informed their patients about the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment. In the new electronic age, however, medic

BOCA RATON, Fla--Recent data on the topoisomerase I inhibitor irinote-can (Camptosar) are quite encouraging for its use in refractory colorectal cancer, Dr. Leonard Saltz said at the annual meeting of the Network for Oncology Communication and Research.

Preliminary results from a study conducted by Dr. D. Firat and coworkers in Ankara, Turkey, confirm that the combination of vinorelbine (Navelbine) and doxorubicin has major antitumor activity when used as first-line therapy in advanced breast

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla--The member institutions of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) must adapt to the changing health care system and "help to shape that change in a positive manner for all in cancer care," William T. McGivney, PhD, said in his State of the NCCN address at the network's second annual conference. Dr. McGivney was recently named chief executive officer of the alliance.

A protein located on the membrane of a cell's energy source can block the signal that tells cells to die, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center at

Spontaneous return of sensibility to the breast often occurs following reconstruction with autologous tissue, according to a study published in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Clinical data from the initial study of the BreastAlert Differential Temperature Sensor support its usefulness for indicating the possibility of heat-emitting, medically significant breast disease, including

SEATTLE--"In every area of government, the most important legacy of the last Congress was the agreement to balance the budget by the year 2002," David Goldston said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

ROCKVILLE, Md--The FDA has given Agouron Pharmaceuticals clearance to market its protease inhibitor Viracept (nelfinavir mesylate), under the accelerated approval process. Viracept was approved in both adult and pediatric formulations, for the treatment of HIV when antiretroviral therapy is warranted.

Neugut and colleagues have compiled a very comprehensive, thoughtful description of the incidence, epidemiology, etiology, clinical presentation, and treatment of small bowel malignancies. This is a very unusual tumor that few clinicians will encounter during their careers, and fewer still will diagnose preoperatively.

NEW YORK--New information about pain pathogenesis is paving the way for future analgesics, Kathryn J. Elliott, MD, said at a conference on chemical dependency and pain management, sponsored by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

BETHESDA, Md--The President's Cancer Panel, after nearly a year of study, has concluded that managed care overall has adversely affected clinical cancer research, patient access to clinical trials, and physicians who participate in studies.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute is currently recruiting patients for the first phase I study to test a novel method of delivering cisplatin (Platinol) to tumors. The new treatment, called SPI-77, carries cisplatin via a special vehicle called a STEALTH

HMO abuses are the single largest health problem in America today," said New York State's Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughy Ross. New York recently became the first state in the nation to ban "drive-through mastectomies," when it

BUFFALO, NY--Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute are recruiting patients for enrollment in 19 different protocols testing unique treatments for HIV-infected individuals. The goal of these protocols is to preserve or enhance the fragile immune system while treating and preventing malignancy.

Scientists have developed a drug and radiation regimen for reducing locally advanced and inoperable tumors in the pancreas and stomach.

Culture appears to influence people's perceptions of narcotic pain relief after surgery, say researchers who have surveyed fracture patients in Northern California and in Vietnam.

Scientists at Stanford University have done the next best thing to packaging living cells in individual boxes for study.