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Call for authors: Oncology’s new Practice & Policy section accepting submissions
August 17th 2010The passage of MMA changed the oncology practice landscape, now we’re entering into unknown territory with Obama’s reform bill. Voice your opinions/perspectives on practice and policy issues affecting cancer care with 35,000 of your colleagues on the pages of ONCOLOGY.
New Knowledge About Cancer in HIV's Survivors Prompts Warnings of an Epidemic
August 17th 2010We cannot escape the realities of biology. Just as children rescued from leukemia and lymphoma live to grow into adults who must confront the adverse effects of their curative treatment, people rescued from AIDS by HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) are showing a substantially increased risk of cancers other than the "AIDS-defining" malignancies designated by the Centers for Disease Control in the 1980s: Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), and cervical cancer.
Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Anal Cancer: Toxicity versus Outcomes
August 15th 2010The treatment of cancer of the anal canal has changed significantly over the past several decades. Although the abdominoperineal resection (APR) was the historical standard of care, a therapeutic paradigm shift occurred with the seminal work of Nigro, who reported that anal canal cancer could be treated with definitive chemoradiation, with APR reserved for salvage therapy only. This remains an attractive approach for patients and physicians alike and the standard of care in this disease. Now, nearly four decades later, a similar approach continues to be utilized, albeit with higher radiation doses; however, this strategy remains fraught with considerable treatment-related morbidities. With the advent of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), many oncologists are beginning to utilize this technology in the treatment of anal cancer in order to decrease these toxicities while maintaining similar treatment efficacy. This article reviews the relevant literature leading up to the modern treatment of anal canal cancer, and discusses IMRT-related toxicity and disease-related outcomes in the context of outcomes of conventionally treated anal cancer.
Support crumbles for community cancer clinics
August 9th 2010There was a time when a cancer diagnosis meant long commutes for patients in small communities and rural America. The kind of care they needed was available only at tertiary medical centers, typically in metropolitan areas. An expanded network of community cancer clinics changed that, providing convenience and comfort for many thousands of patients. A few years ago those centers were treating four out of five U.S. cancer patients. But now this net of care providers is collapsing under the weight of falling Medicare reimbursement.
Chronic ITP Important Safety Information
August 6th 2010Nplate® is indicated for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins or splenectomy. Nplate® should be used only in patients with ITP whose degree of thrombocytopenia and clinical condition increases the risk for bleeding. Nplate® should not be used in an attempt to normalize platelet counts.
Waging the deadliest battle: Against both cancer and Candida
August 5th 2010As more doctors turn to fluconazole for empirical antifungal therapy, some of the weakest patients--those with hematological malignancies and neutropenia--are most likely to pay the price, succumbing to resistant microorganisms.
Nora Janjan, MD, MPSA, MBA, Editor of Practice & Policy
August 5th 2010We are pleased to announce that internationally regarded radiation oncologist, Nora Janjan, MD, Editor-in-Chief of ONCOLOGY, will parlay her policy expertise and serve as Editor for the journal’s new Practice & Policy department set to launch in the September edition.
Healthcare reform, unveiled, finally
July 30th 2010Four months after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it,” a congressional panel has released the first chart illustrating the 2,801 page health care law President Obama signed into law in March. Check out the video…
