Paul Marks to Head Search Committee For National Cancer Institute Director
March 1st 1995WASHINGTON--HHS Secretary Donna Shalala has appointed Paul Marks, president, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, to chair the search committee for a director of the National Cancer Institute, to replace Dr. Samuel Broder, who now plans to leave in March instead of April as originally announced.
Federal Anti-Kickback Statute Provides for 'Safe Harbors'
March 1st 1995Part 1 of this three-part series on the Medicare fraud and abuse laws reviewed the laws prohibiting self-referrals (ONI, Jan, 1995, ). Part 2 (Feb, 1995) looked at the false claims laws and how to avoid exposure to such claims. This final article discusses the Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback statute.
ASIM Joins Coalition in Effort to Bring Tobacco Industry Under FDA Control
March 1st 1995WASHINGTON--The American Society of Internal Medicine (ASIM) joined the Coalition on Smoking OR Health in its effort to create FDA oversight of the tobacco industry. ASIM's policy on tobacco supports stronger cigarette labels,
Euthanasia: No Substitute for Rational Pain Interventions
March 1st 1995MIAMI, Fla--Public support of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia stems from multiple medical, social, and economic factors, Kathleen Foley, MD, said at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society. (See table for a list of some of these factors.)
AZT Alone Arm Dropped From Study of HIV in Children
March 1st 1995WASHINGTON--The AZT alone arm has been dropped from a large ongoing federal study of children with HIV infection, because it proved less effective in preventing disease progression than the other arms and had significant adverse effects.
FTC Advised to List Tar and Nicotine Levels Directly on Cigarette Packages
February 1st 1995BETHESDA, Md--An expert advisory committee to the President's Cancer Panel believes that the method of testing levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide in cigarettes is inadequate, as is the system used by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to inform consumers about these levels and what they mean to the smoker's health.
Undertreatment of Cancer-Related Pain May Be Tied to Physicians' Fear of Addiction to Drugs
February 1st 1995NEW YORK--Physicians and patients contribute to undertreatment of both cancer-related and acute noncancer pain because of unwarranted fear of addiction to pain medications, according to an expert on pain management.
ASH Panel: How Many Hemotologists/Oncologists Are Enough?
February 1st 1995NASHVILLE--The independence of hematologists/oncologists, including the specialty's right to determine the size of its residency programs, is being threatened by the changes occurring in health care, Daniel Rosenblum, MD, said at a forum on health-care reform at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).
Major Cancer Centers Form Network to Negotiate With Insurers
February 1st 1995NEW YORK--Thirteen of the nation's leading cancer centers have announced the creation of a national alliance that will develop and institute standards of care and clinical guidelines for the treatment of cancer and perform outcomes research.
ACS Panel on Prostate Cancer: Painful Skeletal Mets Require Special Management
February 1st 1995PHILADELPHIA--Pain from skeletal metastasis has a major impact on quality of life in patients with prostate cancer, Mary Layman-Goldstein, RN, OCN, said at the American Cancer Society's National Conference on Prostate Cancer. Ms. Layman-Goldstein, a clinical nurse specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, served on a panel discussion on how to manage complications of prostate cancer.
Results Encouraging In First Trial of Gene Therapy in Brain Ca
February 1st 1995NASHVILLE--Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have seen objective responses in some of the 15 patients treated to date in the first clinical trial of gene therapy in brain tumors, Michael Blaese, MD, said at the scientific subcommittee session on gene therapy at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting.
Cell Sorter Fails to Win Approval
February 1st 1995ROCKVILLE, Md--The FDA has denied a request by CellPro, Inc. (Bothell, Wash) to approve its cell sorting device Ceprate SC, used investigationally to purify bone marrow or peripheral blood autografts by concentrating CD34+ stem cells. The FDA has asked the company to provide additional information on the device.
High-Speed Cell Sorter Isolates Pure Stem Cells For Use in Autologous Transplantation Patients
February 1st 1995NASHVILLE--An experimental high-speed clinical cell selection device has been shown to be capable of isolating a pure population of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), essentially free from cancer cells, and the machine's developer (SyStemix, Inc., Palo Alto, Calif) has received FDA allowance for an active IND (investigational new drug) for clinical testing of HSCs purified by cell selection in cancer patients who are undergoing transplantation.
Zeneca Expands Into Health-Care Services With Salick Purchase
February 1st 1995WILMINGTON, Del--Zeneca Group PLC, London, the parent company of Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, has entered into an agreement to purchase a 50% interest in Salick Health Care, Inc., Los Angeles, a provider of health-care services to patients with cancer and other complex illnesses. It may be the first time a pharmaceutical company has purchased a health-care provider.
Study Suggests Schedule for Gyn Exams in Women on Tamoxifen
February 1st 1995SAN ANTONIO--Gynecologic evaluation of women taking prophylactic tamoxifen (Nolvadex) should be restricted to patients with endometrial thickening that exceeds 8 mm and possibly to premenopausal women with amenorrhea, a British study suggests.