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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.

The House Rules Committee took the somewhat unusual step of blocking a key physician-backed bill from coming to the House floor for a vote. Late at night on May 24, the Committee voted to keep H.R. 1304 from coming to a vote on the House

ASCO-Response rates were 100% among 15 patients with advanced head and neck malignancies treated with a combination of radiation therapy and C225 (cetuximab). Complete responses occurred in 13 of the 15 evaluable patients, James Bonner, MD, reported at the 36th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in New Orleans.

The article entitled “The Current Surgical Management of Metastatic Spinal Disease,” by Drs. Peter C. Gerszten and William C. Welch, is a timely, comprehensive review of the current state of the art in the diagnosis and surgical management of spinal

WASHINGTON-A new study indicates that amorphous breast calcifications, unless clearly benign, should be considered suspicious lesions and should be stereotactically biopsied, said Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiology and director of the Division of Breast Imaging, University of Maryland.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) for the treatment of patients 60 years of age and older who are in first relapse with CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and are not considered

BETHESDA, Md-A major restructuring of the National Cancer Institute’s communications has combined and expanded the activities of four of the institute’s former offices. Susan Sieber, PhD, recently named the institute’s deputy director for communications, will head the new Office of Communications.

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom-The first definitive data supporting the use of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors in treating gastric cancer were presented by John Fielding at the ASCO annual meeting

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama-Combining the monoclonal antibody C225, which targets epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr), with radiation dramatically increased response rate and durability in patients with advanced, unresectable, head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

SAN DIEGO-A longer surveillance interval of 6 years or more may be appropriate for low-risk postpolypectomy patients, said Ann G. Zauber, PhD, of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Zauber presented the study findings at the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) meeting held during the Digestive Disease Week conference.

ASCO-Cytoreductive nephrectomy prior to interferon-alfa-2b (Intron A) therapy increased survival by 50% in patients with previously untreated metastatic renal cell cancer, compared with interferon alone, Robert Flanigan, MD, reported at the plenary session of the 36th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in New Orleans.

ASCO-Updated findings on thalidomide (Thalomid) for the treatment of refractory myeloma show “striking results,” Bart Barlogie, MD, PhD, director of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Little Rock, said at the 36th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in New Orleans.

BALTIMORE-The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) announced at a press conference that it will fund development of an innovative, oral AIDS vaccine by the University of Maryland Institute of Human Virology (IHV), a center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute founded by Robert Gallo, MD, co-discover of HIV.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recently launched a new online education resource-ASCO Grand Rounds- for cancer professionals, featuring biweekly CME-accredited lectures on current topics in cancer. The lectures will

At the outset of their article, Drs. Gerszten and Welch state that their primary goal is to review factors that affect surgical intervention in patients with metastatic spinal disease. On their way to achieving this goal, the authors touch on some of the

Dr. Potters has provided an excellent and timely overview of transperineal interstitial permanent prostate brachytherapy (TIPPB). The historical context, as the title suggests, nicely illustrates the lessons already learned and those still to be learned. There are a few points I would like to discuss in further detail.