All News

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla-For 10 years, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has been overseeing the quality of managed care organizations. “NCQA is the leading accreditor of HMOs, and, through HEDIS (the Health Plan Employer Data Information Set), our impact has stretched beyond accreditation,” Dr. Cary Sennett said at the Fourth Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

Last month, the French AIDS scandal of the 1980s limped to a close with the acquittal of Laurent Fabius, prime minister from 1984 to 1986, and his social affairs minister Georgina Dufoix. The two held office during the period from April to September 1985 when Abbott’s HIV screening test for blood was available but not used in France because, the lawsuit charged, the government chose to wait until a French version of the test was available.

WASHINGTON-At the beginning of 1999, more than 6 million of Medicare’s 40 million beneficiaries were enrolled in some 300 Medicare+Choice plans, the new managed care program instituted by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). The move to Medicare+Choice was not without disruption, as health care organizations covering 400,000 Medicare recipients refused to renew their contracts with HCFA under the new payment arrangement.

BETHESDA, Md-A large and growing body of data indicate that exposure to polio vaccines tainted with the simian virus SV40 “has not led to an outbreak of mesotheliomas, osteosarcomas, or ependyomas,” the NCI said.

HOUSTON-GE Medical Systems and Baylor College of Medicine have launched a 24-hour satellite programming service to deliver accredited, continuing education for physicians, nurses, and other allied health professionals directly to hospitals.

ALEXANDRIA, Va-ASCO is going “virtual”-but with “real” CME credits. The American Society of Clinical Oncology will provide, for the first time, access to its annual meeting via the Internet at its website (www.asco.org).

WASHINGTON-There’s a new battle opening in the Tobacco Wars, and this time it’s a civil war-Uncle Sam vs the states.

LOS ANGELES-“The Group Room,” a nationally syndicated cancer radio talk show, entered its third year on the air with new markets, accolades for its host Selma Schimmel, and a new book based on the show.

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