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CHICAGO-A low daily dose of venlafaxine (Effexor)-an antidepressant agent that affects reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine-resulted in a 60% reduction in the "median hot flash score," a measure of the severity and frequency of hot flashes. The therapeutic dose range for treatment of depression is 75 to 225 mg/d; the 60% reduction in the hot flash score was achieved with only 75 mg/d. Charles Loprinzi, MD, director of medical oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, reported the results at the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

SAN ANTONIO-A retrospective analysis of data from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) Protocol B-24 suggests that estrogen-receptor (ER) expression predicts response to tamoxifen (Nol-vadex) among patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

NEW ORLEANS-In patients undergoing laparoscopic procedures for gynecologic lesions, complications and conversion to laparotomy can be predicted based on several risk factors, according to the 10-year experience of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center investigators, presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO abstract 74).

HOLLYWOOD, Florida-The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has added an oxaliplatin (Eloxatin)-containing regimen for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer to its updated 2003 guidelines for colorectal cancer treatment, as well as new recommendations for the use of radiation therapy (see box).

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

In this issue of ONCOLOGY,Chaudhary and Hull succinctlysummarize historical trends andcurrent thinking regarding the role ofcytoreductive nephrectomy in patientswith metastatic kidney cancer.Before the era of immunotherapy,there was little evidence that the naturalhistory of metastatic renal cellcarcinoma was improved by cytoreductivenephrectomy.[1] Patientswith metastatic cancer generally diefrom complications related to theirsites of tumor spread and not fromthe primary tumor; thus, on face value,it seems illogical to surgicallyremove the primary tumor in thesepatients.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.

This special supplement to Oncology NewsInternational includes updated results ofstudies with anti-CD20 therapy and othertargeted therapies in the treatment oflymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Theresults were presented at the American Societyof Hematology 44th Annual Meeting inPhiladelphia, December 6 to 10, 2002.City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

CHICAGO-According to early experience at one imaging center in Massachusetts, whole-body screening CT is attracting individuals who may benefit from early detection of disease, such as current or former smokers and persons with other risk factors for cancer and heart disease. These researchers found that whole-body screening CT is not, as some have feared, leading to additional unnecessary invasive and expensive testing. However, a California study found that nearly half of persons with an abnormality found on screening required follow-up testing.

Two cancer-related issues-evidence-based cancer screening andpain control in advanced cancer-are among 20 priority areasthat an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee has urged publicand private organizations to focus on as a way of transforming healthcare in the United States. Goals regarding screening, especially forcolorectal and cervical cancer, the report said, are "to increase thenumber of people who receive screenings and to provide timely followup."Regarding pain control in patients with advanced cancer, thecommittee urged efforts to "emphasize cooperation in protocols acrosscare settings, advance planning for changes in settings, as well asheightened pain, and public education regarding the merits of opioidmedications in this area."

Confronted with essentially stagnant budgets in coming years, theNational Cancer Institute (NCI) is initiating an unprecedentedeffort to solicit the views of the cancer community about settingits future research priorities. NCI wants greater input from its own staff andadvisory groups, cancer researchers and clinicians, advocates, and othergroups that fund cancer research as it decides where to focus its futureefforts, according to a briefing document provided to the National CancerAdvisory Board (NCAB) subcommittee on budget and planning.

This special “annual highlights” supplement to Oncology News International (ONI)is a compilation of selected news on important advances in the management ofgastrointestinal cancers over the past year, as reported in ONI. Guest Editor, Dr.James L. Abbruzzese, comments on the reports included herein and discussesdevelopments in the clinical management of GI cancers, with a look at the impactof targeted agents with cytotoxic chemotherapy, first-line and adjuvant therapies foradvanced disease, and the role of statins and COX-2 inhibitors in prevention.

This special “annual highlights” supplement to Oncology News International (ONI)is a compilation of selected news on important advances in the management ofgastrointestinal cancers over the past year, as reported in ONI. Guest Editor, Dr.James L. Abbruzzese, comments on the reports included herein and discussesdevelopments in the clinical management of GI cancers, with a look at the impactof targeted agents with cytotoxic chemotherapy, first-line and adjuvant therapies foradvanced disease, and the role of statins and COX-2 inhibitors in prevention.

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania-Elevated levels of common serum biomarkers, including HER2/neu, predict response to hormone therapy among women with advanced breast cancer, according to a study reported by Kim Leitzel, MS, senior research associate in the Experimental Oncology Research Lab, directed by Allan Lipton, MD, at Penn State/Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan-Giving oral capecitabine (Xeloda) plus IV vinorelbine (Navelbine) in flat doses unadjusted for body surface area (BSA) is a feasible, convenient strategy that has good activity in previously treated metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a phase I/II study. The findings lay the groundwork for investigating a potential flat-dosed, all-oral regimen, according to Anne F. Schott, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine with the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ann Arbor.

ESSEN, Germany-The combination of capecitabine (Xeloda) plus vinorelbine (Navelbine) is feasible and has a favorable toxicity profile in anthracycline-pretreated or taxane-pretreated advanced breast cancer, according to results of a recent phase I/II study. "The response rate over 50% is very promising," noted Udo Vanhoefer, MD, professor of medicine at University of Essen Medical School in Germany. "We had no alopecia, the incidence of hand-foot syndrome is very low, and the dose density is very high at 90% and very acceptable for this combination."

BERN, Switzerland-The antiestrogen fulvestrant (Faslodex) is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for women with heavily pretreated, hormone-sensitive advanced breast cancer, according to an interim analysis from an ongoing study by the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK), based in Bern, Switzerland. All of the patients in the study had failed both tamoxifen and an aromatase inhibitor, but 11 of 32 patients (34%) had prolonged clinical benefit on fulvestrant 250 mg every 28 days.

EVANSTON, Indiana-Analysis of traditional factors that correlate with choice of mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery failed to explain the significantly higher mastectomy rates in the United States compared to the United Kingdom seen in the international Arimidex (anastrozole), Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination (ATAC) trial. ATAC investigator Gershon Y. Locker, MD, noted the striking difference "in the mastectomy rates between the two largest accruing nations in ATAC-the United Kingdom with a 42% mastectomy rate and the United States with a 51% mastectomy rate. This is a 21% increased risk of having a mastectomy if enrolled in the United States compared to the United Kingdom."

PHILADELPHIA-T-cell depletion had no clear advantage over immunosuppressive drug therapy in patients receiving a matched, unrelated donor bone marrow transplant, John E. Wagner, MD, reported at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH abstract 274).

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina-Dose-intense, dose-dense neoadjuvant docetaxel (Taxotere) /vinorelbine (Navelbine) produced a pathologic complete response rate of 36% in women with locally advanced breast cancer, making the combination among the most active ever tested in this setting, according to investigator Steven A. Limentani, MD. Preliminary study results also suggest the regimen is safe and well tolerated.

CHICAGO-Among patients with intractable and severe pain because of bony metastases, radiofrequency ablation either relieved pain completely or produced a significant reduction in patients’ assessment of pain, according to a study presented at the 88th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA abstract 228VI-p). In this multicenter study of 62 patients with osteolytic metastases, 44% reported they were completely free of pain at some point during the 6 months following radiofrequency ablation, 81% had a 3-point drop in the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), and 95% had at least a 2-point drop in BPI.