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The increase in serious gram-positive infections has increased the need for treatment of gram-positive infections in patients with hematologic malignancies. Common gram-positive pathogens exhibit a variety of resistance

Bloodstream infections cause significant morbidity and mortality for patients with hematologic malignancy. Antimicrobial drugs are the most reliable currently available treatment for infection, but several issues must be

Neutropenic patients with cancer are a heterogeneous group of patients who carry a variable risk for infection. When such patients present with fever, appropriate empiric antibiotic therapy is initiated and continued until

Risk prediction in patients with neutropenia and fever in a reliable and timely manner has only become possible in the last decade. Patients have been categorized as high risk or low risk based on certain presenting

Three-dimensional (3D) treatment planning refers to the use of software and hardware tools to design and implement more accurate and conformal radiation therapy. This is a major advance in oncology that should lead to

DURBAN, South Africa-Leading experts on HIV/AIDS gathered at the 13th International AIDS Conference, held for the first time in Africa, the continent most severely affected by the pandemic. Experts estimate that 70% of the 34 million people infected with HIV worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa.

This phase I/II nonrandomized, open-label study was designed to assess the safety and benefit of sequencing irinotecan (Camptosar, CPT-11) plus paclitaxel (Taxol) immediately after cisplatin (Platinol)/etoposide (VePesid,

In preclinical studies, the topoisomerase I inhibitor irinotecan (Camptosar, CPT-11) has demonstrated activity as a radiosensitizer, probably due to its ability to inhibit potentially lethal radiation damage repair. We conducted a

WASHINGTON-One way to ensure that the right parties receive imaging study results and actually look at them is to make notification nearly fail-safe. A system in use at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Asheville, NC, as well as other VAs, does exactly that, David M. Schuster, MD, staff radiologist at the hospital, said at the 100th annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society.

Radioimmunotherapy with iodine I-131 tositumomab (Bexxar) produced tumor shrinkage in 97% of previously untreated patients with advanced-stage, low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to a recent study at the University of Michigan

BETHESDA, Md-The National Cancer Institute-sponsored Early Detection Research Network has issued 13 grants totaling $18 million to complete its first year of funding. Last fall, NCI awarded $8 million to set up the network’s initial operations-18 biomarker development laboratories. The new grants will finance the establishment of the program’s other three components: clinical and epidemiologic centers, biomarker validation laboratories, and a data management and coordinating center.

WASHINGTON-Few were aware of the American Legacy Foundation until last February when it televised and then temporarily pulled two antitobacco advertisements, one of which showed body bags being stacked outside the headquarters of Philip Morris.

SAN FRANCISCO-Surviving cancer is a joyous thing in itself. A new awards program will spotlight that joy and share the stories of 12 survivors who are “everyday heroes,” in an effort to help others who are struggling with the disease.

BETHESDA, Md-Patients have a new, reliable source for information about drugs. The National Library of Medicine has added the US Pharmacopeia’s Drug Information, Vol. II, “Advice for the Patient,” to its MEDLINEplus website. The publication provides extensive information about more than 9,000 brand name, generic prescription, and over-the-counter medications, written in nontechnical language. The information is available at http://medlineplus.gov.

SAN DIEGO-In the VA Cooperative Study 380, screening colonoscopy found advanced adenomas in approximately 10% of asymptomatic veterans, and approximately 20% to 40% of those patients had no lesions within reach of a sigmoidoscope, depending on the insertion depth of the scope.

ROCKVILLE, Md-Last September, medical oncologist Richard Pazdur, MD, became director of the Division of Oncologic Drug Products at the US Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Pazdur joined the FDA after 12 years on the faculty of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where his most recent position was professor of medicine and director of educational programs within the Division of Medicine.

NEW YORK-Surgery plus postoperative radiation and chemotherapy should replace surgery alone as standard therapy for most patients with gastric cancer, according to data from Intergroup Study INT-0116. The results were presented at the ASCO meeting by John Macdonald, MD, of St. Vincent’s Cancer Center, New York.

ASCO-A new multicenter international trial is comparing standard systemic pain management with intrathecal therapy for chronic cancer patients.

The author of this reference, Dr. John J. Mulvihill, has a long-standing reputation for studying the complexities of human genetic disorders. His experiences, many publications, and collaborations have focused on various topics, including definition of the

SAN DIEGO-Effective screening for colorectal cancer requires ongoing testing and follow-up. Robert E. Schoen, MD, MPH, of the University of Pittsburgh, reported that adherence with sigmoidoscopy is outstanding-about 86% of eligible subjects returned for a follow-up exam at 3 years. However, a negative experience with screening flexible sigmoidoscopy can keep patients from repeating the procedure. He discussed the findings at an American Gastroenterological Association research forum held during Digestive Disease Week.

BETHESDA, Md-The number of substances “known” or “reasonably anticipated” to cause human cancer now stands at 218, according to the newly published Report on Carcinogens, 9th edition. The new number represents a total increase of 14 substances over the 8th edition. Sixteen substances were added to the previous list, and, for the first time, two were removed.

In addition to the study reported by Friedland, another study of the use of paclitaxel in urothelial cancer was presented at ASCO. This study employed paclitaxel alone on a weekly schedule and showed it to be active in heavily pretreated, advanced urothelial cancers. It should be tested further in chemotherapy-naive patients, according to Catherine M. Broome, MD, of the Northern Virginia Oncology Group, Fairfax.

SAN DIEGO-In anticipation of a phase II chemoprevention study, researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center determined that low doses of aspirin work as well in suppressing prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) as higher doses. Frank A. Sinicrope, MD, presented the results at an American Gastroenterological Association poster session held during the Digestive Disease Week conference.

HOUSTON-Weekly administration of paclitaxel (Taxol) plus carboplatin (Paraplatin) is active in advanced urothelial cancer but probably too toxic for routine use, David M. Friedland, MD, of the Genitourinary Committee, US Oncology, Houston, reported at the ASCO meeting.

BETHESDA, Md-The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is providing funding for nine US clinical units of the new international HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).

WASHINGTON-The number of cigarettes exported annually from the United States has declined by 25%, according to the Agriculture Department. Exports fell from 201.3 billion cigarettes in 1998 to 151.4 billion in 1999.

NCI Colorectal Cancer Group Outlines a Decade of Research Goals

WASHINGTON-President Clinton has named Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to serve as chair of the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB). Dr. Sharp succeeds J. Michael Bishop, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco. The President has also named three new board members-James O. Armitage, MD, James Harold French, Jr., MD, and Arthur Wesley Nienhuis, MD. The 18-member board advises the President, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the director of the National Cancer Institute on the policies and activities of the NCI.

WASHINGTON-A new study shows that asymptomatic women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are no more likely than women not on HRT to need follow-up imaging after screening mammography, said Linda Moy, MD, clinical assistant, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

WAUKESHA, Wisconsin-GE Medical Systems is now marketing its Millennium VG Hawkeye, an imaging system that combines CT anatomic images with PET functional images. At one clinical test site, doctors reported that Hawkeye images influenced treatment in 25% of patients, the company said in a news release.