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BETHESDA, Md--Herceptin (trastuzumab, Genentech) has become the first monoclonal antibody to win support from the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) for use in treating breast cancer. The group voted unanimously to recommend that the FDA approve Herceptin for treatment of women with metastatic breast cancers that overexpress the HER2/neu gene, both as a single agent after first-line chemotherapy has failed and in combination with paclitaxel (Taxol) as first-line treatment.

ROCKVILLE, Md--A Chicago mammography facility, known as CMI, has agreed to pay a $30,000 fine and to cease operating in the mammography field for 5 years. The FDA had accused it of performing mammography exams without

HOUSTON--With its 1998 Holiday Collection, the Children’s Art Project rings in its silver anniversary--25 years of cards and gifts designed by pediatric patients at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. New this year is a children’s book, Bunnies in my Head, by Tricia Tusa with art from the children of M.D. Anderson.

GENEVA--Protease inhibitors are central to most current regimens for suppressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but also may cause major side effects. These increasingly serious problems may be related to effects on two cellular receptors involved in lipid metabolism, according to work presented at the 12th World Conference on AIDS. The most serious problems are a lipodystro-phy syndrome, hyperlipidemia, and increased insulin resistance, which may lead to diabetes mellitus.

The continuum of smoking behavior among children and adolescents can be described in stages of preparation, trying, experimentation, regular smoking, and nicotine dependence or addiction. Persons who have smoked can discontinue at any

BETHESDA, Md--The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has unanimously recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grant full approval to Camptosar (irinotecan hydrochloride injection, Pharmacia & Upjohn) for the treatment of metastatic colon or rectal cancer that recurs or progresses after fluorouracil (5-FU) therapy.

Health-care organizations should make available to their workers a system that includes written protocols for prompt reporting, evaluation, counseling, treatment, and follow-up of occupational exposures that may place health-care workers at

Doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute are exploring a new experimental therapy in which they transfer the tumor-suppressing gene TP53 (alias p53) into patients to reverse tumor progression. University of Pittsburgh clinical

In 1992, the FDA decided that silicone gel-filled breast implants would be available only through controlled clinical studies, despite the fact that they had been used for mammoplasty in millions of women around the world

In 1992, the FDA decided that silicone gel-filled breast implants would be available only through controlled clinical studies, despite the fact that they had been used for mammoplasty in millions of women around the world

Recent strategies to improve the outcome of fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy for patients with cancer have focused on better selection of patients likely to respond to such therapy and on protracted exposure to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Cellular

Metastatic colorectal cancer to the liver develops in over 50,000 US patients each year and is rapidly fatal if untreated. Even the most active chemotherapeutic agents rarely prolong survival for more than 3 years. Liver

Cutaneous lymphomas comprise a spectrum of diseases characterized by infiltration of the skin by malignant lymphocytes. The clinical manifestations of cutaneous lymphomas vary, and they can mimic benign dermatoses,

Metastatic colorectal cancer to the liver develops in over 50,000 US patients each year and is rapidly fatal if untreated. Even the most active chemotherapeutic agents rarely prolong survival for more than 3 years. Liver

Cutaneous lymphomas comprise a spectrum of diseases characterized by infiltration of the skin by malignant lymphocytes. The clinical manifestations of cutaneous lymphomas vary, and they can mimic benign dermatoses,

The cycle-specific schedule-dependent antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been in clinical use for 40 years and has evolved as an important agent in the treatment of a large spectrum of tumors, including all gastrointestinal

Over the past several years, the pyrimidine catabolic pathway and, in particular, the first enzymatic step involving dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) have been recognized as being critical in determining the ultimate

The treatment of advanced colorectal cancer has been evaluated in a series of randomized trials, including infusional and modulated 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and three meta-analyses encompassing trials of 5-FU plus

Discussed herein are selected oral fluorinated pyrimidines that are converted to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in vivo to exert antitumor activity. These agents include capecitabine (Xeloda), tegafur-uracil (UFT) plus leucovorin (Orzel), and S-1 (BMS247616). These agents offer the convenience of an orally administered therapy with potentially fewer toxic effects than conventional bolus regimens of 5-FU plus leucovorin. These oral agents provide prolonged 5-FU exposure at lower peak concentrations than observed with bolus intravenous administration of 5-FU and may confer pharmacoeconomic advantages by reducing administration costs and toxicity-related hospitalizations. These regimens also have the potential for improved therapeutic activity by achieving higher 5-FU concentrations in the tumor or by biochemically modulating 5-FU. Phase III trials in patients with advanced colorectal carcinomas are comparing the antitumor activity of these agents with that of intravenous 5-FU plus leucovorin. [ONCOLOGY 12(Suppl 7):48-51, 1998]

The cellular and clinical pharmacology of fluoropyrimidines is characterized by marked interpatient variability in tumor response and patient tolerance. Understanding the metabolic pathways followed by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has

BETHESDA, Md--The National Cancer Institute has begun funding the Cancer Genetics Network to support collaborative investigations into the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility. The Institute will spend $6 million for the first year of operation, much of which will go to planning and establishing the complex infrastructure needed to support the project.

ORLANDO--Using certain strategies in dealing with payers can contribute significantly to building successful relationships and maximizing revenues from bone marrow transplants and peripheral stem cell procedures, said Charles J. Bruno, vice president of business development for the City of Hope Management Services Organization, which manages oncology care for nearly 1 million lives in Southern California.

SAN FRANCISCO--A thorough and accurate family history, going back at least four generations, is one of the most effective tools for establishing genetic cancer risk in a patient, Andrea Fishbach, MS, MPH, of Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, said at the American Cancer Society’s 2nd National Conference on Cancer Genetics. But counselors should be aware that taking such a history can release strong emotions in the patient.

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario, Canada--A new technique is being employed in an attempt to eventually restore the reproductive potential of girls and young women receiving radiotherapy or chemotherapy for cancer. Five families in a study from the United Kingdom have chosen to have ovarian cortical tissue samples removed and frozen prior to cancer therapy.

ROCHESTER, NY--The WHO International Network for Cancer Education (INCE) is putting together a list of exchange programs in cancer education, (eg, exchange of students, residents, or faculty), involving a European or US center and a corresponding center in Asia, Africa, or Latin America.

WASHINGTON--More than 40 groups, with strong representation from women’s and girls’ organizations, have appealed to Congress to aggressively address the "global tobacco epidemic" and particularly its impact on Third World women.

NEW YORK--With good management, brain tumor patients at risk for seizures can control their seizures and regain control of their lives, a UCLA neuro-oncologist reassured brain tumor patients during a Cancer Care, Inc. teleconference.

SAN FRANCISCO--Groundbreak-ing ceremonies were held July 7 for a long-awaited building to house the clinical cancer programs of UCSF (University of California, San Francisco) Stanford Health Care. UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD, delivered the opening remarks.

BALTIMORE--"Genetic testing may soon become another routine tool of medicine," Barbara Biesecker, MS, said at a Johns Hopkins conference on genetic testing for adult onset disorders. Making genetic testing routine will require training more professionals in genetic counseling and overcoming a number of myths that have accumulated around the field, said Ms. Biesecker, co-director of the Genetic Counseling Research and Training Program of the NIH’s Medical Genetics Branch.

Dr. Paul Cinciripini and I wrote an article entitled, "Smoking Cessation: Recent Developments in Behavioral and