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BETHESDA, Md-An addendum to the National Toxicology Program’s Ninth Report on Carcinogens moves the dioxin TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) from the "reasonably anticipated" to cause human cancers category to the "known to be a human carcinogen" designation. A legal challenge to the change prevented the new designation from being published in the full report last May.

Rituximab (Rituxan) is a genetically engineered chimeric murine/human monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to CD20 on pre-B and mature B lymphocytes. While binding of the Fab domain may induce apoptosis, the Fc domain recruits immune

Rituximab (Rituxan) is a chimeric monoclonal antibody that targets the CD20 anti-gen on normal and malignant non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) cells. It has been shown to produce immediate, severe, and specific B-cell depletion in

Oncologists who have a financial interest in-or are thinking about investing in-a related business that provides such things as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or radiology services should pay attention to the final rules from the

Cancer Nursing: Principles and Practice is widely considered to be the basic textbook on cancer nursing. With this edition, every chapter has been updated to reflect the latest research and references, and many of the chapters now include

CHICAGO-In HIV-positive patients, antiretroviral therapy should be started when CD4+ lymphocyte counts drop below 350 cells/mL3, according to a new study reported at the 8th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

Treatment of low-grade or follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is associated with a high rate of initial response, followed invariably by relapse. Subsequent remissions occur at a progressively lower rate and with progressively shorter

WASHINGTON-Only 17 states have committed substantial funds from the tobacco settlement to tobacco prevention and cessation programs, according to a new report released by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and American Lung Association.

Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc, won a Gold Award in the patient education category for the children’s guidebook Me and My Marrow at the seventh annual National Health Information Awards.

BOSTON-A Rare Cancer Network study of testicular lymphoma found that relapses are most likely to occur in the central nervous system (CNS), Mahmut Ozsahin, MD, PhD, said at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

Rituximab has been an effective treatment for chemotherapy-refractory low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The integration of rituximab (Rituxan) into standard first-line oral chemotherapy for low-grade NHL was initiated in order to

CHICAGO-The permanent placement of radioactive seeds in the prostate gland is proving to be equivalent to radical prostatectomy in the treatment of men with prostate cancer, according to some recently published data. However, some men have been reluctant to choose this treatment option because of the chance that the seeds may expose family members to excessively high radiation doses.

WASHINGTON-A new President and a new Congress have taken office, but Washington is still locked in debates over some of the same old issues. The inauguration of George W. Bush brought a new administration with a considerably different outlook from that of the Clinton era and a political philosophy and ethical and moral beliefs that could significantly affect health care policy and medical research, including oncology practice and research.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ-The cancer community must address the barriers that prevent the introduction of the language of dying into the survivorship lexicon, said Ellen Stovall, president and CEO of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

RFB4(dsFv)-PE38 (BL22) is a recombinant disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin composed of the variable domains (VH and VL) of the anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody RFB4 attached by a disulfide bond and with VH fused to truncated

Physicians will have 2 years to develop the consent forms and compliance programs dictated by the medical records confidentiality rule published by the Clinton administration on December 28. Some provider groups, particularly in the health

Possible mechanisms of action of the chimeric CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) involve complement- and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Because granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF [Neupogen])

Stage IV indolent lymphomas are currently considered incurable disorders. However, the achievement of an early molecular remission, as determined by the bcl-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, is associated with a better outcome. In view

CHICAGO-A study of 129 patients with intermediate-grade and large-cell immunoblastic lymphomas shows that the radiotherapy dose should be adjusted to the initial size of the tumor, said Richard Wilder, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The study constitutes the largest series of these patients in the modern era of chemoradiation, he said.

Tositumomab/iodine-131 tositumomab (Bexxar) is a new radioimmunotherapy active in chemotherapy-relapsed or -refractory indolent (IN) or transformed indolent (TR) non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The current study was undertaken to assess

LOS ANGELES-The Group Room, a weekly syndicated radio call-in talk show about cancer, is expanding internationally after 5 successful years of broadcasting in the United States. Vital Options TeleSupport Cancer Network, the not-for-profit cancer communications, advocacy, and support organization that produces the show, announced that its first live broadcast from Europe took place January 28, 2001, at The Royal Marsden Hospital, London. A broadcast from Paris followed on February 9. Selma R. Schimmel is host of The Group Room and CEO and founder of Vital Options.

ROCKVILLE, Md-The FDA approved 160 medications and medical devices last year, including a number of oncology products. Among the most important cancer medications approved for the first time or for a new indication were:

WASHINGTON-The President’s tobacco commission is supporting the federal regulation of tobacco products. The Supreme Court ruled last March that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to regulate tobacco products, and federal legislation that would have provided the agency with the ability to regulate tobacco products failed in Congress last year.

Based on a previously published experience (Blood 92:3409, 1998), 5 additional patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) have since been treated with rituximab (Rituxan). We present a summary of all 6 patients (5 female, 1 male;

One of the 10 leading health indicators that reflect the major health concerns in the United States is cigarette smoking among adolescents. To examine changes in cigarette smoking among high school students in the United States from 1991 to 1999, the

WASHINGTON-New patient privacy regulations instituted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will affect oncology from research to private practice. The new rules set privacy standards governing the release of health information that might reveal the identity of individual patients.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted marketing clearance for a new formulation of fluorouracil (5-FU) as treatment of actinic keratoses. This "Microsponge" formulation of the antimetabolite, manufactured by Advanced

Ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) consists of an anti-CD20 murine IgG1 kappa monoclonal antibody covalently bound to tiuxetan (MX-DTPA), which stably chelates yttrium-90 for therapy. Ibritumomab tiuxetan therapy involves pretreatment with

Ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) is a murine anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody covalently bound to the chelator tiuxetan, which can securely chelate yttrium-90. We performed a randomized controlled trial

We conducted a phase I/II trial to evaluate the toxicity and response rate of the chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with a clinical diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who had failed