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NEW ORLEANS-A new technique for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can reduce brain scan time by half, according to a study from the Department of Radiology, University of Vienna, reported at the 99th annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society. The new technique, T1-3D-echo-planar-imaging (EPI)-sequence, has diagnostic utility comparable to conventional T1-3D-gradient echo-sequence imaging, said lead investigator, Ahmed Ba-ssalamah, MD.

Laparoscopic operating techniques are gaining wider acceptance among colorectal surgeons, as their efficacy is proven. These techniques offer patients the advantages of fewer complications, decreased need for postoperative narcotics, faster

PHILADELPHIA-“Confronting Cancer Through Art” is a juried exhibition of inspirational artwork crafted by individuals who have been touched by cancer (see artwork). This year marks the second time that the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center has sponsored this exhibit, which runs through October 31, 1999, at the Arthur Ross Gallery in Philadelphia. The first exhibit was presented in 1996.

ARLINGTON, Va-Studies indicate that about half of cancer patients are now using complementary and alternative therapies, a finding that is motivating many medical oncologists to discuss such therapies with their patients and make recommendations about their use.

VIENNA, Austria-In a group of estrogen- or progesterone-positive breast cancer patients, combination endocrine treatment using goserelin (Zoladex) and tamoxifen (Nolvadex) significantly reduced the number of recurrences and increased disease-free survival, compared with CMF, after a median follow-up of 4 years, said Reimond Jakesz, MD, of the Department of General Surgery, University of Vienna, Austria.

NEW YORK-Nuclear medicine-based imaging techniques are now being used to refine treatment strategies for cancer patients, with positron emission tomography (PET) at the forefront. Patients with complex cancers of the brain, head and neck, thyroid, and lung are now able to receive more refined and accurate diagnoses through new PET techniques, four speakers said at a nuclear medicine conference sponsored by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Cancer patients enrolled in chemotherapy clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, incurred a 5-year average cost of $46,424, compared to $44,133 for matched control patients who were not trial participants, suggesting that

WASHINGTON-A federal judge has declared unconstitutional several sections of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act (FDAMA) that regulate the ability of pharmaceutical companies to distribute to physicians certain materials regarding off-label uses of drugs.

ASCO just stated its policy on the privacy of medical records, which is a hot issue in Congress, especially because the House and Senate are in the midst of a conference committee on a financial services modernization bill. Medical records

VIENNA, Austria-Among the CNS effects of opioids are cognitive failure, organic hallucinations, myoclonus, hyperalgesia, and severe sedation. “Regular, repeated assessments of cognition should be performed in patients taking opioids, and any changes should be evaluated by the physician to exclude other underlying etiologies,” Carla Ripamonti, MD, said at the World Congress on Pain.

Kim Jessup, MD, professor of surgery and director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is using radiofrequency ablation to dissolve tumors that have spread from the colon to the liver. According

NEW YORK-A person-centered holistic approach to the practice of oncology involves the integration of current state-of-the-art Western therapies with nutritional supplementation and other less traditional methods, including meditation, music and sound therapy, and guided imagery techniques, said Mitchell L. Gaynor, MD, director of medical oncology and of the Integrative Medicine Program, Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Center, New York.

Given to Cancer Patients Cancer patients undergoing therapy with interferonalfa-2b (IFN-a-2b [Intron A]) are possibly being overmedicated with the narcotics and antidepressants commonly administered with this agent, according to a University

ATLANTA-AIDS deaths fell by 20% between 1997 and 1998, but this was a significantly smaller decline than the 42% fall in mortality that occurred between 1996 and 1997, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

ATLANTA-A survey of homosexual men in California suggests that the more strongly a man believes in the effectiveness of HIV drug regimens to prolong life and prevent transmission to partners, the more likely he may be to engage in unsafe sex.

ORLANDO-Researchers from Kure, Japan, reported on the first prospective study to show a direct connection between infection with Helicobacter pylori and the onset of gastric cancer. Their work, presented at the Digestive Disease Week meeting, builds upon epidemiologic research done in the early 1990s that strongly suggested such an association.

WASHINGTON-Only six of the states that settled their lawsuit with the tobacco industry last year have so far “provided enough new funding for truly comprehensive tobacco prevention and cessation programs,” according to a new report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Heart Association. The six states are Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Vermont, New Jersey, and Washington.

BETHESDA, Md-The new year will bring a new and controversial source for obtaining access to new scientific studies in the life sciences. In January, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will launch PubMed Central, a free on-line repository of research reports, found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/.

ROCKVILLE, Md-Although cigarette smoking has remained relatively stable among youths age 12 to 17 since 1988, the percentage of young adults who smoke rose sharply between 1994 and 1998. According to a new government survey, 41.6% of Americans age 18 to 25 were cigarette smokers last year, up from 34.6% in 1994 and 40.6% in 1997.

BETHESDA, Md-Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is being used to “cook” tumors where they lie and may be particularly useful for destroying liver metastases. This quick, nontoxic, relatively noninvasive approach will soon be tested in clinical trials, Bradford Wood, MD, of Georgetown University Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health, said in an interview.

LOS ANGELES-“PET has arrived!” Edward Coleman, MD, said at a press conference held during the 46th annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Coleman, professor of radiology and director of the Nuclear Medicine Division, Duke University Medical Center, noted that “PET has expanded tremendously into the clinical environment.” He attributes this to the development of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET imaging and PET’s growing applications in oncology.

PITTSBURGH-University of Pittsburgh researchers have shown that immature dendritic cells can be genetically modified to serve as an effective vehicle for presenting tumor antigens to the immune system. Such cells were shown to induce a significant and therapeutic tumor-specific immune response in an animal model.

Measurement of the quality of life (QOL) of patients, particularly those with cancer, has recently become a major scientific endeavor. The rapid growth of the hospice movement throughout the world during the past half-century has underscored the importance of palliation when a cure no longer seems possible.

The article by Castiel highlights the benefits and potential risks of estrogen replacement in cancer patients. For patients with malignancies that are not “estrogen sensitive,” adding hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to the therapeutic regimen can only improve quality of life.

Drs. Boyd and Mehta provide a comprehensive yet concise overview of the role of radiosurgery in the management of selected patients with brain metastases.

Gemcitabine is a potent radiosensitizer in both laboratory studies and in the clinic. Initial laboratory studies showed that gemcitabine radiosensitizes a wide variety of rodent and human tumor cells in culture. Maximum

Worldwide, approximately 100,000 patients have undergone stereotactic radiosurgery for a variety of intracranial lesions, of which brain metastases represent the most common treatment indication. This article summarizes the major issues surrounding the management of brain metastases, and also analyzes 21 independent reports of Gamma Knife– or linear accelerator–based radiosurgery, representing over 1,700 patients and more than 2,700 lesions. Variable reporting in the studies precludes a definitive, rigorous analysis, but the composite data reveal an average local control rate of 83% and median survival of 9.6 months, both of which are comparable to results in recent surgical reports. The most important prognostic factors for survival appear to be fewer than three lesions, controlled extracranial disease, and Karnofsky performance score (KPS). The exact impact of dose has not been clarified, but a dose-response relationship, especially for ³ 18 Gy, is emerging. The role of whole-brain radiotherapy remains unresolved. It may enhance local control but does not convincingly improve survival and, in some series, is associated with an increased risk of late complications. Chronic steroid dependence and increased intracranial edema do not appear to be common problems. This is an opportune time for the completion of ongoing randomized trials to validate these observations. [ONCOLOGY 13(10):1397-1409,1999]

Chemotherapy agents known to enhance the effects of radiation in preclinical studies have been used concurrently with radiotherapy in numerous clinical trials with the prospect of further enhancing radiation-induced

Fluorinated pyrimidines have long been used as radiosensitizers in combined-modality therapy for solid tumors. Nonetheless, the most commonly used drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is inconvenient to administer, particularly

That hypoxic tissues are more resistant to the effects of radiation than well-oxygenated tissues has been known for many decades, and repeated in vitro demonstrations have confirmed that to achieve the same degree of cytotoxicity, hypoxic cells require about three times the radiation dose that well-oxygenated cells need. Hypoxic cell sensitizers enhance the tissue response to standard radiation, generally by mimicking the effects of oxygen, which induces the formation and stabilization of toxic DNA radicals. Although many hypoxic cell sensitizers like the nitroimidazoles have been evaluated in combination with radiation, these agents have had no or only minimal therapeutic impact due to either their limited potency or their toxicity at biologically relevant concentrations. This article reviews several new modalities that either increase oxygen delivery or sensitize hypoxic tissues. These modalities, all currently in early clinical evaluations, include: (1) tirapazamine, a bioreductive agent; (2) gadolinium texaphyrin, a hypoxic cell sensitizer with biolocalization properties using magnetic resonance imaging; (3) RSR13, an allosteric modifier of hemoglobin; and (4) bovine hemoglobin modified by the attachment of polyethylene glycol polymers.[ONCOLOGY 13(Suppl 5):61-70,1999]