Guilford's Wafer Implants Improve Survival of Brain Cancer Patients
June 1st 1995BALTIMORE, Md--The results of a phase III double-blind trial of Guilford Pharmaceutical Inc.'s Gliadel have been published in Lancet (April 22, 1995). In patients with malignant brain tumors, 6-month median survival rates increased from 23 weeks with placebo to 31 weeks with Gliadel treatment, the company said. For patients with glioblastoma multiforme, the increase was from 20 weeks to 28 weeks, a 55% improvement.
Radiation Pretransplant Enhances Survival in Advanced AML Patients
June 1st 1995PARIS, France--Cyclophosphamide with total body irradiation (TBI) provides better survival rates than cyclophosphamide plus busulfan when used as a pre-autologous bone marrow transplant (ABMT) conditioning regimen in patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a University of Minnesota study has found.
Radiolabeled MoAb Allows Higher RT Doses
June 1st 1995LOS ANGELES--Use of a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody in patients with relapsed B-cell lymphoma may allow higher doses of radiation to the tumor and less toxicity to normal organs, Oliver W. Press, MD, PhD, of the University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, said in his ASCO presentation.
New Study Shows Shortage of Naïve T Cells in HIV-Infected Patients
June 1st 1995STANFORD, Calif--Researchers at Stanford University Medical Center have found profound shortages of naïve T cells among individuals infected with HIV. In contrast, previous studies have suggested that naïve T cells remain stable with the progression of HIV disease.
Depression Increases With Advanced Cancer and May Influence Cancer Pain
June 1st 1995NEW YORK--Depression is more common in patients with advanced cancer and can have an adverse effect on cancer pain. For example, in patients with advanced breast cancers, a study showed that concomitant depression and interpretation of pain influenced pain more than site of disease or presence of metastases, Memorial Sloan-Kettering psychiatrist William S. Breitbart, MD, said at a conference sponsored by Cancer Care, Inc., a social work agency for cancer patients and their families.
Bill Seeks Access to Federal Health Plan
June 1st 1995WASHINGTON--Probably the best-informed group of American consumers of health care are the 9 million federal employees enrolled in the government's health-care plan, Representative Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) said at the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) annual meeting.
Tanning Parlors May Spread Disinformation
June 1st 1995NEW YORK--In its aggressive attacks on the American Medical Association and American Academy of Dermatology, the tanning industry uses disinformation to obscure the fact that artificial sources of ultraviolet (UV) light are no safer than the sun, said Rex Amonette, MD, president of the American Academy of Dermatology and clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Memphis.
Indicators of Nicotine Addiction Among Women-United States, 1991 to 1992
June 1st 1995An estimated 22 million US women were current smokers in 1993; of these, 73% wanted to quit smoking [1]. However, attempts to quit smoking and to remain abstinent are hindered by nicotine addiction and by the subsequent effects of nicotine
The Economics of Oncology: Why Oncologists Should Get Involved in Practice Guideline Development
May 2nd 1995The environment for medical practice is changing very rapidly. Much greater accountability is being demanded of all health-care providers, including oncologists. Issues related to the philosophy of care, financial management, and ethics are all being
Genetic Therapy Gets NIH Patent
May 1st 1995GAITHERSBURG, Md--The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has licensed its broad patent covering gene therapy techniques to Genetic Therapy, Inc. The inventors cited on the patent are gene therapy pioneers W. French Anderson, Steven Rosenberg, and Michael Blaese.
Fusion Product Delivers Potent Toxin to Malignant Cells
May 1st 1995NEW ORLEANS--Diphtheria toxin-based "fusion toxins" can produce durable remissions in malignancies that express the targeted receptor, and they are safe and well-tolerated, said John R. Murphy, PhD, chief of biomolecular medicine, Boston University Medical Center Hospital.
Compounds Block ras Gene Function Compounds Block ras Gene Function
May 1st 1995TORONTO, Canada--For years, scientists have known that defective genes allow tumors to grow. Today, researchers blame as many as 30% of all cancers on just one of those genes, the ras gene, the first oncogene discovered in human cancers. Animal research presented at the meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) may someday lead to cancer drugs that can block the effects of this oncogene in humans.
Companies Merge to Form NeXstar
May 1st 1995BOULDER, Colo--NeXagen, Inc. and Vestar, Inc. have merged to form NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. One focus of the new company will be the liposomal delivery of oligonucleotides. The company's initial product, AmBisome, is a liposomal formulation of amphotericin B, which has been approved for marketing in 16 countries for the treatment of life-threatening systemic fungal infections that fail to respond to conventional amphotericin B therapy.
Antiangiogenesis Tested in Pediatric Tumors
May 1st 1995NEW ORLEANS--Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have initiated a trial of an angiogenesis inhibitor in children with recurrent solid tumors, the idea being to stunt the growth of new blood vessels that nourish the tumor. Speaking at the American Cancer Society Science Writers Seminar, Dr. Stephen Skapek, of the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard, said that an agent known as TNP-470 (formerly AGM-1470) was found to be a "potent" inhibitor of blood vessel growth in immunosuppressed mice and produced a desirable adverse effects profile.
Delivery of Effective Cyclophosphamide Metabolite Could Reduce Toxicity
May 1st 1995COLUMBUS, Ohio--Research from Ohio State University points to phosphoramide mustard as the cyclophosphamide metabolite with the greatest alkylating activity, and suggests that a reformulation of the chemotherapeutic agent to deliver only this metabolite could reduce toxicity without decreasing anticancer activity.
New Director Attends Office of Alternative Medicine Advisory Meeting
May 1st 1995BETHESDA, Md--Wayne Jonas, MD, director-designate of the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), who will take office on July 1, has attended his first meeting of the Alternative Medicine Program Advisory Council (AMPAC).
Educational Interventions Help Ca Patients Cope With Fatigue
May 1st 1995NEW YORK--Fatigue is too often a part of life for cancer patients and can erode their quality of life. "We need to talk to cancer patients about their energy level and ability to cope, and educate them about how to deal with the treatment and the disease itself," said Lois Almadrones, RN, MPA, OCN, clinical research associate, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Suit to Test Rights of Physicians to Receive Info on Off-Label Drug Use
May 1st 1995WASHINGTON--The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF), a public interest group, has claimed that the FDA violated the First Amendment rights of physicians by denying them access to information about the off-label use of certain oncologic drugs.
Dedicated Breast MR Imaging System Distinguishes Between Tumor and Normal Fat Tissue
May 1st 1995he development and testing of a new method of high quality clinical fat/water separated 3D breast MR images was recently announced by Advanced NMR Systems Inc., with its subsidiary, Advanced Mammography Systems Inc.
Head-to-Toe Review May Find Reversible Cause of Fatigue in Ca Patient
May 1st 1995n NEW YORK--Roughly 70% of cancer patients complain of fatigue at some point in their illness, and a search for reversible causes and multiple etiologies of such fatigue should be a part of standard practice, Ronald Blum, MD, said at a a symposium on fatigue in cancer sponsored by Cancer Care, Inc.
PPRC Releases Study on Managed Care Physician Payment Plans
May 1st 1995WASHINGTON--The Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC) released a study describing how managed care plans select and pay physicians in their networks. The study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and the Medical College of Virginia, is the first systematic attempt to compare forms of managed care.
Aminopterin, First Studied in 1948, Appears Poised for Comeback in ALL
May 1st 1995NEW ORLEANS--An antifolate that has been "shelved" for decades appears to be more potent than methotrexate in the treatment of childhood leukemias and could prove particularly helpful in patients who are not likely to respond to the traditional agent.