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This year’s “Cancer Trends” survey provides insight into ambulatory cancer care, effects of the recession, and organizational strategies that may help providers adapt to the changes in the healthcare marketplace.

Go back to the beginning of MRI, in the early and mid-1980s, and you’ll find an almost rabid adoption of the modality, despite scant evidence of its clinical value. MRI has since done much to gain the trust of the medical community, opening a diagnostic cornucopia in the process. But the future has to bring more if MR is going to extend this legacy. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are working on it.

This is decision time at FDA. Since the agency gave accelerated approval for Avastin in first-line treatment of metastatic breast, two follow-up studies “failed to confirm the magnitude” of the benefits seen in that first study of Avastin. Consequently, ODAC voted 12 to 1, urging FDA to reverse its approval of Avastin in this indication.

Most busy oncologists will never have time or patience to sift through the 864-page final rule CMS released Tuesday describing how health care providers can demonstrate "meaningful use" of electronic health records to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments under the 2009 federal stimulus package.

The journal ONCOLOGY: Perspectives on Best Practices is a peer-reviewed open access reviews journal that focuses on practical treatment issues. Reviews are accompanied by insightful commentaries from oncologists working in a variety of settings.  

Osteoporosis in elderly cancer patients is an increasing problem, yet it remains under-recognized and under-managed. We commend Dr. Balducci for writing a comprehensive review of the bone complications associated with cancer and its treatment in the elderly.

Dr. Balducci has presented a timely and useful overview of bone health in elderly patients undergoing cancer treatment. This topic has important implications, not only within geriatric oncology but also throughout the entire age spectrum. Dr. Balducci’s focus on the elderly population is especially relevant, as this group is at particularly high risk for bone complications over the course of cancer therapy. In his review, Dr. Balducci provides an introduction to the physiology of bone reabsorption and formation, and discusses risk factors for the interruptions in usual physiologic homestasis that lead to osteoporosis.

Osteopenia and osteoporosis are increasingly common in cancer patients, owing to the aging of the population and to new forms of cancer treatment. Androgen and estrogen deprivation, as well as some forms of cytotoxic chemotherapy, may lead to osteopenia and osteoporosis. Patients at risk for osteoporosis include those treated with aromatase inhibitors and with androgen deprivation for more than 1 year. In addition, all patients 65 years of age and older are at risk of osteoporosis when treated with cytotoxic agents, and so should be screened for bone loss. Several treatments have been effective in the prevention and management of osteoporosis. In patients at risk for this complication, it is recommended to obtain a bone density evaluation and to start appropriate treatment. This may include calcium and vitamin D supplementation for mild forms of osteopenia, and bisphosphonate therapy or denosumab (Prolia) for more advanced osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Saw palmetto, a small, slow-growing palm, is prevalent in the southeastern United States. Its berries are a rich source of fatty acids and phytosterols, and were used by Native Americans as food and also as medicine to treat urinary tract problems.

Th e cancer survivor population in the U.S. is nearing 14 million and is growing at a rate of about 10% each year. Unfortunately, cancer patients who have completed treatment do not always have access to comprehensive, follow-up care.

ONCOLOGY Nurse Edition Continuing Medical Education July 2010

ASTRO selects its 2010 class of fellows while ASCO bestows awards on international oncologists. Learn more about the latest appointments and accolades in the cancer community.

Research has proven that invertebrates are immune to malignant disease. We are on the cusp of discovering how their immunopotent systems can serve as anticancer agents.

SNM president challenges insurers to focus more on saving lives and less on saving money.

It is well known that exposure to chemotherapy or radiation therapy can result in long-term complications for childhood cancer survivors. What is less certain is why some children have to contend with these complications while others do not. Researchers at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, Calif., are one step closer to fitting another piece in the survivorship puzzle: They hypothesized that there is some inherent genetic susceptibility that raises this risk.

HIV’s disruption of immune system function may cause the immune system cells themselves to become cancerous, NCI researchers have concluded. If so, this might explain why patients with AIDS are 100 times more likely to be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma than the general population.

The Obama administration is pushing for universal EMR adoption. Sounds like a good idea. But are EMRs ready for prime time?

Energy therapies consist of interventions that are designed to interact with the biofield of a person. The concept of the biofield is based on the assumption that all living things have a natural flow of energy that is integral to their basic composition.

Epigenetic cancer therapies that changed how DNA is packaged within the nucleus clearly work against some tumors, but it's not clear exactly how. A new study has unearthed a hitherto unknown action: They seem to unmask tumor antigens to make them vulnerable to attack by cytotoxic lymphocytes.

In our experience, EMRs are not working, and we need a different solution. Fast. Here are just three of the problems. In our opinion, Medicare needs to stop the train at the station until some other important issues are addressed that enable EMR to be effective.

Nighthawk remains poised for growth despite a recent announcement that it is closing some offices and cutting jobs, according to a financial analyst who follows the company.

Watch this page for ONCOLOGY’s on-site coverage of the annual meeting: Internationally regarded oncologists give exclusive interviews and expert perspective reports of the highlights of this year’s meeting. See the links below for ASCO Renal Cell Carcinoma session coverage from RCC experts Andrew J. Armstrong, MD, MSc, Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Robert J. Motzer, MD, MSKK

Visit ONCOLOGY’s on-site coverage of the annual meeting: Internationally regarded oncologists gave exclusive interviews and expert perspective reports on the highlights of this year’s meeting. See the links below for  Hematologic Cancers session coverage from hematologic malignancy authority Samuel M. Silver, MD, PhD, University of Michigan

The NP working in your practice may have knowledge gaps of which you are unaware. At the moment, you're responsible for solving the problem.

For more American Society of Clinical Oncology coverage from CancerNetwork, please visit our pages Renal Cell Carcinoma (with experts Andrew J Armstrong, MD, MSC, Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Robert J. Motzer, MD, MSKK) and Hematalogic Cancers (coming soon with insights from Samuel M. Silver, MD, PhD, University of Michigan).

Watch this page for ONCOLOGY’s on-site coverage of the annual meeting: Internationally regarded oncologists give exclusive interviews and expert perspective reports of the highlights of this year’s meeting. See the links below for American Society of Clinical Oncology GI Cancer session cover from GI cancer specialists Richard M. Goldberg, MD, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Peter C. Enzinger, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Watch this page for ONCOLOGY’s on-site coverage of the annual meeting: Internationally regarded oncologists give exclusive interviews and expert perspective reports of the highlights of this year’s meeting.

Harold E. Varmus, MD, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the director of the NCI.

The Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic has been awarded more than $2 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the renovation and expansion of its translational cancer research facilities. The National Center for Research Resources, which is part of NIH, awarded the grant.