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The 2008 Oncology on Canvas: Expressions of a Cancer Journey art competition and exhibition, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company in partnership with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, is accepting entries to be received no later than June 30, 2008.

A study based on nearly 23,000 patients at 1,178 US healthcare facilities has found that FDG-PET or PET/CT led referring physicians to alter their opinion about the optimal treatment for 36.5% of cancer patients.

Xoft, Inc’s Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy System, initially FDA approved for accelerated partial breast irradiation in patients with resected early-stage breast cancer, has now received expanded FDA clearance for the treatment of other cancers or conditions where radiation therapy is indicated.

Merck & Co., Inc.’s supplemental Biologics License Application for use of Gardasil in women aged 27 through 45 has been accepted by the FDA and designated for priority review.

Optical tomography with ultrasound localization has the potential to monitor tumor vascular changes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to a pilot study in which the modality was able to distinguish between responders and nonresponders, and even between complete and partial pathologic responses. Susan Tannenbaum, MD, of the University of Connecticut, Farmington, described the approach at the 2007 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract 45).

When given as intended with radiation therapy, the dose-intense Stanford V regimen is well-tolerated, safe, and effective for treating bulky or advanced Hodgkin lymphoma, based on the experience of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Monica Morrow, MD, has joined the staff of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as chief of the Breast Service in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Morrow is also the incumbent of the Anne Burnett Windfohr Chair of Clinical Oncology, effective January 2009.

Offering palliative care to pediatric cancer patients markedly reduced their end-of-life suffering, according to research conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

The first ever joint consensus guideline for colorectal cancer screening adds two new tests to the list of recommended options-stool DNA and CT colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy-outlines quality elements for each testing method, and includes a preference for screening tests that can detect cancer early and also detect precancerous polyps.

Adherex Technologies Inc. has activated a phase III trial of sodium thiosulfate (STS) vs placebo to prevent hearing loss in children scheduled to receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy for newly diagnosed germ cell, liver, brain, nerve tissue, or bone cancers.

An independent data monitoring committee stopped a phase III clinical trial of the investigational mTOR inhibitor everolimus (RAD001) after interim results showed significantly better progression-free survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer who received the drug, compared with placebo.

Increasing attention is now being focused on cancer care as a continuum with expectations for the development and evaluation of a seamless set of medical, psychosocial, and spiritual services that flow from diagnosis through survivorship and end of life care.

Cisplatin is effective in treating several types of childhood cancers (eg, CNS tumors, osteosarcoma, hepatoblastoma, neuroblastoma, germ cell tumors). It is the most ototoxic drug used clinically, and hearing loss is a well-recognized toxicity of cisplatin therapy.

A 49-year-old Caucasian man presented with progressing erythematous plaques on the face and neck in December 2007. He was treated with topical steroids, presumably for dermatitis, without improvement.

Researchers in DNA markers and photon-activation therapy have garnered more than $1 million dollars for personal use through the Gotham Prize for Cancer Research, a newly established award designed to encourage innovations in cancer research.

His Royal Highness, The Duke of York, was the guest of honor at a lunch held to mark the US launch of the UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company ProStrakan Group plc.

In 1992, FDA established accelerated approval (AA) regulations to allow patients with HIV and other life-threatening diseases rapid access to therapeutics.

Erythropoietin-stimulating agents were spared the ax when FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) decided by a vote of 13-to-1 that ESAs should remain available for use in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia.

Universal healthcare has been a hot button topic in the 2008 US presidential race. But there is more to universal healthcare than insurance coverage. A truly universal system would address-and possibly even eradicate-disparities in healthcare that are based on nonclinical factors, such as socioeconomics and gender.

Optical tomography with ultrasound localization has the potential to monitor tumor vascular changes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to a pilot study in which the modality was able to distinguish between responders and nonresponders, and even between complete and partial pathologic responses.

Loma Linda University Medical Center has established a new cancer center under the direction of Mark Reeves, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at Loma Linda University and chief of the Section of Surgical Oncology at the Loma Linda Veteran's Administration.

The three words “You’ve got cancer” can change someone’s life. After being diagnosed with cancer, questions arise: Can it be cured? Why me? Am I going to die? Luckily, as advances have been made in the treatment of cancer, the diagnosis of cancer is not necessarily a terminal one. In fact, many cancers, such as breast or colon cancer, when detected early enough, are curable, and treatment advances have resulted in long-term survivorship across many cancers.

Current US statistics on cancer reveal that more than 11 million cancer survivors live among us today, and that number is expected to double by 2050.[1,2] One important contributing trend has been a fall in cancer deaths driven by earlier detection and improved treatment. Deaths resulting from cancer declined from 206.7 per 100,000 population in 1980 to 185.7 per 100,000 in 2004. Meanwhile, the adjusted 5-year survival rate for cancers overall increased from 50% to 66% between 1975–1977 and 1996–2003,[3] and these statistics speak only to relatively short-term survival. About 1 in every 7 survivors today received their diagnosis more than 20 years ago.[4]

Patients who have experienced oral mucositis report it as the most bothersome side effect of cancer therapy. It can result in pain, infection, and nutritional defi cits, and can interfere with appropriate cancer treatment. Many patients with mucositis are opiate-naive, presenting clinical challenges.

As oncology nurses, we know that effective communication, comprehensive patient education, and ongoing identification of patients' needs are key components of excellent patient care.

The preservation and maintenance of quality of life (QoL)-the "extent to which one's usual or expected physical, emotional, [and] social well being [is] affected by the medical condition or its treatment" [1]-is an important aspect in understanding and approaching the overall management and evaluation of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) by health care providers. MDS patients are treated with blood transfusions to improve their health-related QoL. Fortunately, recent advances in therapy have signifi cantly enhanced their ability to cope with MDS.

Palliative care for patients and their families across the cancer disease trajectory-from diagnosis, through survivorship, to end of life-is essential for quality cancer care.

Based on Independent Data Monitoring Committee review of three phase II trials, AstraZeneca’s HORIZON III phase II/III study of its antiangiogenesis agent Recentin will progress directly into phase III. The study is a head-to-head comparison of first-line Recentin (cediranib, AZD2171) plus FOXFOX vs bevacizumab (Avastin) plus FOLFOX in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer