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NEW YORK-Integrating spirituality into oncology social work practice is appropriate, feasible, and necessary, said Mary Ellen Summerville, CSW, MDiv, program coordinator of the Spirituality Program at Cancer Care, Inc. She told oncology social workers attending a Cancer Care seminar that they can and should help their clients with these issues.

HAMBURG, Germany-Sexual dysfunction is a significant problem for women who have undergone bone marrow transplants, Dr. Karen Syrjala said at the Fourth International Congress of Psychooncology. A clinical psychologist from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Dr. Syrjala reported results of a longitudinal study that followed 118 men and women for more than 3 years following transplantation.

WASHINGTON-The Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC) has urged Congress to act immediately to ensure that the National Institutes of Health implements recommendations of a recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report. That report, sometimes critical of the National Cancer Institute, urged specific efforts to better understand and correct the unequal burden of cancer among minorities and the medically underserved.

NCCN-FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla-Over a billion people worldwide have the potential to view or listen to a CNN program at any given time, Dan Rutz, of the CNN Health and Medical Unit, said at a roundtable on how the media report advances in cancer. The discussion was held at the Fourth Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla-Major changes in health care contracting are coming as the managed care industry, spurred by losses, is raising premiums and seeking to shift risk to providers, Patricia J. Goldsmith said at the Fourth Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Ms. Goldsmith is vice president for managed care and business development at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa.

ANAHEIM, Calif-“Recent studies have shown biomarkers to be very effective tools in the study of pollution and its effects on individuals,” reported Joellen Lewtas, PhD, senior research scientist, Office of Environmental Quality, EPA, Seattle, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting.

ANAHEIM, Calif-Although toxicology and epidemiology have both contributed importantly to our understanding of cancer hazards, researchers have now “gone as far as we can go” using each discipline separately, Christopher Schonwalder, PhD, said at a symposium on mixed environmental hazards and cancer at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Vicini and colleagues provide an excellent review of the experience to date utilizing interstitial brachytherapy in the treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer. As the authors mention, ample evidence suggests the existence of a dose-

Many patients with widespread cancer develop a hypoproliferative anemia,[1-3] which is often worsened by systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy. Some chemotherapeutic agents directly depress the capacity of bone marrow cells to proliferate,

As is evident to anyone who has sought medical information on the Web in the past year, an enormous and rapidly expanding number of health-related sites provide unprecedented access to a vast spectrum of cancer information, from the

Dr. Paulino and his coauthors present a thoughtful, comprehensive survey of the literature regarding the evolving management of intracranial germinoma. They review promising areas of clinical research and acknowledge an increasing

Paulino et al provide an excellent summary of the literature on primary germinoma of the central nervous system (CNS). As the authors note, germ-cell tumors of the CNS are rare, comprising about 1% of all brain tumors in patients in the Western

Vicini and colleagues present an informative, compelling review of both past and recent clinical investigations of the use of brachytherapy in patients with prostate cancer, particularly those with locally advanced disease. The tables presented at the

Increasingly, oncologists are recognizing the importance of understanding the patient’s perception of anticancer treatment. Supportive care for cancer has improved to the point that patients no longer need fear overwhelming nausea, uncontrolled

The Internet is rapidly becoming a third party in the doctor-patient relationship. The World Wide Web, electronic mail (e-mail), and discussion groups have dramatically increased the quantity of medical and health

Brachytherapy boosts in combination with external-beam radiation therapy allow a highly conformal dose of radiation to be delivered to the prostate in a safe, efficient manner. Several types of brachytherapy boost

The explosion of medical information readily available on the Internet has already changed doctors’ conversations with patients. Ten years ago, patients might have come to a clinic visit with a newspaper or magazine article, but it would have

ANAHEIM, California-Even as the use of combination regimens including protease inhibitors is becoming more routine among individuals infected with HIV, research is starting to highlight the growing problem of drug resistance,

BETHESDA, Md-The National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) has urged Congress to repeal legacislation that some scientists fear will have a paralyzing impact on clinical research. NCAB also made recommendations to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) aimed at reducing the feared threats posed by the legislation.

A 60-patient phase II study was conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of retreatment with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with low-grade or follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Patients were relapsed or refractory to prior chemotherapy but had previously responded to rituximab. Upon progression of disease, patients received IV infusions of rituximab at 375 mg/m² weekly × 4. Patient characteristics were 55% males with medians of: age, 56 years; three prior therapies; 14.2 months since last treatment; and 4.7 years since diagnosis.

MIAMI BEACH-Patients with hematologic malignancies and high circulating lymphocyte counts are at increased risk for infusion-related side effects after the initial infusion of the anti-CD20 mo-noclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan), but this problem can be prevented by a stepped-dosing scheme.

There are standard response criteria for solid tumors, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, and acute myelogenous

WASHINGTON-Medicare will phase in a new payment method for managed care groups, known as risk adjustment, over the first 5 years of the new century. The payment plan, required under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, is intended to encourage managed care organizations to enroll the sickest Medicare beneficiaries.

To establish the role of fludarabine (Fludara) in previously untreated patients with low-grade malignant non-Hodgkin’s

WASHINGTON-A new Internet library of clinical practice guidelines enables physicians to quickly examine hundreds of sets of treatment recommendations and to compare and contrast different guidelines. The National Guideline Clearinghouse (www.guideline.gov) went on-line in mid-January. The website was developed by HHS’ Agency for Health Care Policy Research, the American Medical Association, and the American Association for Health Plans. More than 500 clinical practice guidelines were put into the database initially, and others will be added.

ANAHEIM, California-The inefficient burning of fossil fuel, now practiced on a mammoth scale in developing countries worldwide, puts millions of children around the world at risk for the diseases caused by this form of pollution, which include several forms of cancer. In addition, it worsens climate conditions that carry severe health threats for the future.

WASHINGTON-The National Institutes of Health should greatly expand its efforts to determine why minorities and medically underserved populations, including Appalachian whites, have widely varying cancer burdens, compared with the overall US incidence and mortality, a new Institute of Medicine (IOM) report says.

Iodine-131 tositumomab (Bexxar) is a radiolabeled murine IgG2a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD20 antigen on

The role of allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) as a treatment for advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has not been established. Historical limitations tothis approach have included the relatively advanced age of these patients, as well as their extensive treatment prior to BMT. Accordingly, only limited data have been reported about overall and/or disease-free survival in these patients. Depletion of T-cells offers the potential for older patients to undergo allogeneic BMT by reducing complications related to graft-vs-host disease (GVHD), but whether the graft-vs-lymphoma effect would be correspondingly reduced is unknown.

Contamination of the peripheral blood stem-cell (PBSC) graft with lymphoma and residual disease remaining in the patient after high-dose therapy are two potential causes of relapse after autologous transplantation. Using a tumor-specific monoclonal antibody may be one way to purge the stem-cell graft in vivo and increase the efficacy of the preparative regimen. Rituximab (Rituxan) is an IgG1 kappa chimeric mouse/human antibody containing murine light- and heavy-chain variable regions and human gamma 1 heavy-chain and light-chain constant regions. The antibody reacts specifically with the CD20 antigen found on the surface of malignant and normal B-cells.