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A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advisory panel has found that most available clinical data for nine conditionally approved cancer indications of FDG-PET, evaluated by the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) and a separate Canadian study, are too ambivalent to support Medicare coverage.

News of Sen. Edward Kennedy’s diagnosis with a malignant glioma shocked the nation. It has also raised awareness about the grim prognosis associated with this type of brain tumor. A new study conducted by the American College of Radiology’s Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) could bring hope to glioma patients.

The question of a well-defined role for the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer is recognized to be one of the most hotly debated issues in the management of female pelvic malignancies.[1-3] One group of oncologists would argue that it should be the rare patient (eg, with severe comorbidity) who is not a candidate for an initial attempt at maximal cytoreduction.[1]

When laboratory tests are inaccurate or misinterpreted, patients may receive costly targeted drugs that provide no benefit. If the medical community doesn’t resolve the problem, payers will take action on their own.

MELBOURNE, Australia-The largest multi-institutional study to date examining the effect of PET on the management of recurrent colorectal cancer has shown that PET led to change in the treatment plans for more than half of patients.

Radiofrequency ablation (RA) is effective for the complete eradication of nondysplastic Barrett’s esophagus (BE), according to researchers from the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam.

President George W. Bush approved a bill that devotes $30 million annually over 5 years to fund pediatric cancer research.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved romiplostim (Nplate), the first platelet producer for the treatment of adult chronic ITP (immune thrombocytopenic purpura).

FAIRFAX, Virginia-The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) has invested $5 million in the newly created Radiation Oncology Institute (ROI). The goal of ROI is to support research and education in radiation therapy.

Progression-free survival (PFS) is a perfectly reasonable basis for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve new drug indications, according to ONI readers.

The director of technical services for all Viennese hospitals and clinics has banned Crocs, the plastic clogs popular with healthcare staff.

LAS VEGAS-The increased speed and improved visualization of dual-energy CT helps pinpoint lesions at an earlier, more treatable stage. Faster and better visualization are the main reasons to use dual-energy CT for the assessment of pancreatic masses, according to a radiologist from the University of Munich.

The basis for the increased risks of cytomegalovirus and P. carinii infections with DENSE-R-CHOP-14 was puzzling, said Dr. Zelenetz of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

GENOA-Investigators from the San Martino Hospital in Italy are reporting that direct intrabone cord-blood transplantation overcomes graft failure even when low numbers of human leucocyte antigen-mismatched cord-blood cells are transplanted.

Preliminary data from a Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study has calculated the maximum tolerated dose of motexafin gadolinium (MGd) for radiation therapy for pontine glioma.

The CONKO-001 trial presents a mix of good news and bad news, said Dr. Wolff of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Taken together, the results of the C-07 and MOSAIC trials suggest that oxaliplatin improves both disease-free and overall survival in this population [resected stage II-III colon cancer patients], said Dr. Goldberg, of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In this first installment of ONCOLOGY’s new department, we review “graviola.” Graviola was chosen for review because it is one of the most commonly searched terms sought by visitors to MSKCC’s “About Herbs” website. Because graviola is commonly promoted as a cancer treatment, your patients may be inclined to take it.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new oral formulation of palonosetron hydrochloride (Aloxi) for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Oral administration of palonosetron capsules is indicated for the prevention of acute nausea and vomiting following initial and repeat courses of moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. A single 0.5-mg palonosetron capsule is administered approximately 1 hour prior to the start of chemotherapy.

Bernard Fisher, MD received his medical degree in 1943 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. As a young doctor, he was torn between a life in the operating room and one in the research lab. His curiosity about the biology of the diseases that were being treated by surgery eventually led to his decision to combine those interests.

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Canada-Long-term survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk of several late effects, including premature cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance as young adults. New research suggests that one cause of these conditions may be growth hormone deficiency (GHD) caused by cancer therapy.

Advanced applications, such as image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), are being rapidly deployed in radiation oncology.

Basically, the manufacturer list price for darbepoetin is so high that it is nearly impossible to buy it as a single-source drug. Instead, companies are creatively bundling drugs, putting physicians under contractual obligation to purchase drugs as a package in order to get the best price and get the “rebate.”

Deciding on a bilateral mastectomy is a bold move for any woman. But for a Hollywood actress, whose very livelihood depends in large part on her being attractive, such a drastic step could verge on foolhardy. It was both heartening and surprising when 36-year-old actress Christina Applegate, star of the ABC TV show Samantha Who?, announced that she had undergone a double mastectomy.

Brain tumor patients receiving standard radiation therapy must wait up to 10 weeks for follow-up CT or MR to determine whether the treatment is working, based on the established MacDonald criteria for assessing treatment.

After 17 years, I am stepping down as editor of Oncology News International to enjoy a long-awaited retirement. When ONI was first introduced back in 1991, it represented a new concept in cancer news publications-rather than simply summarizing journal articles, we actually attended meetings all over the country and reported the results of major presentations.

The difficulty of manufacturing new chemotherapeutic agents-particularly specially formulated biologic cytotoxins-escalates the financial outlay that must be made by physicians as well as driving up the cost of drug delivery to patients, said Howard A. Burris III, MD, chief medical officer and director of drug development at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute and associate with Tennessee Oncology, both in Nashville.

New labeling for Aranesp and Procrit will tighten the use of both medications in cancer patients. The Food and Drug Administration ordered Amgen of Thousand Oaks, California to make changes to the prescribing information for its anemia drug darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp). Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho Biotech had already accepted the changes for the labeling of its ESA epoetin alfa (Procrit).

A significant number of ONI readers believe that their medical training in pain relief and opioid pharmacology is inadequate to help them meet the needs of their cancer patients with pain.