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Heidelberger and associates[1] synthesized fluorouracil (5-FU) in 1957 after observing that rat hepatomas utilized radiolabeled uracil more avidly than malignant tissues. For the past 40 years, 5-FU has been extensively investigated in various schedules, in combination with biochemical modulators, and for a variety of malignancies.[2]

Dr. Mitsuyasu has been doing clinical research in patients with AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, and his review reflects this breadth of experience. It provides a well-rounded and up-to-date assessment of the pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment of AIDS-related KS that should be a useful guide for practicing physicians.

In his article, Dr. Mitsuyasu concisely reviews a large body of data concerning the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, and treatment of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) in the setting of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. As he correctly points out, effective highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), with its consequent improvements in immune function and decrease in production of viral and cytokine cofactors that promote KS growth, has been partly responsible for the decline of KS incidence in areas with ready access to HIV therapy.

Managing the infectious complications associated with pentostatin (Nipent), used alone or in combination with other agents in patients with low-grade lymphomas, poses a significant problem for clinicians. Since there is limited

Both pentostatin (Nipent) and rituximab (Rituxan) have single-agent activity in B-cell malignancies, including indolent and intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Pentostatin is also active in pretreated patients

recent teleconference sponsored by Cancer Care Inc centered on newer treatments for aggressive lymphomas. Michael Grossbard, MD,

The increasing use of systemic and directed liver therapy for patients with hepatic metastases has created a demand for improved accuracy of noninvasive imaging techniques. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic

The management of hepatic tumors presents a challenging problem. The natural history of primary and metastatic liver lesions portends a poor prognosis. However, surgical resection and newer ablative techniques have had a

NEW YORK-Coping with cancer and the side effects of treatment can be difficult and frustrating for caregivers as well as patients. Frances K. Barg, MEd, Coordinator for Cancer Control Education, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and Mary Pat Lynch, CRNP, MSN, AOCN, graduate faculty, Oncology Advanced Practice Nurse Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, had some tips for caregivers and answers to their questions at a Cancer Care, Inc. teleconference. They reviewed a number of things caregivers can do to help relieve the most common problems.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the world’s most common cancers. It is closely associated with cirrhosis, especially that due to viral hepatitis. The incidences of viral hepatitis and HCC are rising steadily in the United

Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is the most common malignancy associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Recent years have witnessed a decline in the overall incidence of AIDS-related KS, as well as a greater

In this short review, we describe two new liver-specific contrast agents for MRI that are in clinical development. The main differences among the liver-specific contrast agents available at present are also discussed briefly.

edicare has scheduled a national meeting on self-injectable drugs for May 18 in Baltimore. The meeting comes

WASHINGTON-All cancer patients should have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials, something that will occur only if Congress passes pending legislation to guarantee insurance coverage for the cost of routine patient care for study participants, speakers told a Capitol Hill briefing sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

NEW ORLEANS-Mastectomy patients who have undergone radiation therapy can still have attractive results from breast reconstruction, providing the surgeon does not underestimate the extent of reconstruction required, according to results of a prospective study presented at the 68th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recently voted to support approval of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) for the treatment of patients ³ 60 years old with CD33-positive, relapsed

MUNICH, Germany-Patients with low-grade lymphoma had a longer disease-free interval when they received radiochemotherapy and stem cell transplant than when they were maintained on interferon-alfa, Wolfgang Hiddemann, MD, PhD, said at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting.

DALLAS-A preclinical study suggests that adding fish oil to the diet of a cancer patient might increase the effectiveness of cancer therapies and improve the patient’s outcome, W. Elaine Hardman, PhD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said at the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s 1999 National Grant Conference.

NEW YORK-“Brain metastases are like orphans when it comes to medical specialties. They really do not belong to any particular area,” said Raymond Sawaya, MD, professor and chair of neurosurgery, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. But evaluation and treatment are improving, he told patients taking part in a teleconference sponsored by the National Brain Tumor Foundation, Cancer Care, Inc., and the Oncology Nursing Society.

WASHINGTON-While acknowledging that tobacco is a major health problem, the Supreme Court has rejected the Clinton Administration’s efforts to create a new federal control effort. It ruled 5 to 4 that “Congress has clearly precluded the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from asserting jurisdiction to regulate tobacco products.”

ORLANDO-“There are still too many rectums being removed in patients with invasive rectal cancer,” said W. Robert L. Rout, MD, associate professor of surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville. He believes this situation could be improved with the use of preoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

WASHINGTON-Ethnic and racial disparities in health care are too often the result of racism, said Thomas Perez, director of the Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Health and Human Services. He was one of a number of speakers at the 7th Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved, and Cancer.

ROCKVILLE, Md-Stung by the failure of several researchers to fully comply with federal gene therapy rules and reporting procedures, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have taken a series of steps to tighten the control and monitoring of such trials.

PITTSBURGH-The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) is encouraging women from racial and ethnic minority groups to consider joining the group’s Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR).

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla-Treatment pathways describing when and how to titrate short-acting opioids rapidly are now part of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Practice Guidelines for Cancer Pain.

Patients who have newly diagnosed leukemia are often overwhelmed with the complexities of their disease and its required therapy. In their book, Understanding Leukaemia and Related Cancers, Drs. Mughal and Goldman offer patients a

The House Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approved what has been a controversial bill (H.R. 1304) allowing independent physicians in a given community to negotiate jointly with a managed care plan. Doing so is currently against

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida-When managed care companies deny reimbursement for care decided upon by the physician and patient, have they crossed the line from managing medical care to practicing medicine? A panel of physicians, lawyers, patient advocates, and representatives from managed care held forth on this issue at a roundtable held during the Fifth Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

SAN DIEGO-External magnets are being used to guide a novel, intra-arterially administered chemotherapy delivery vehicle directly to the tumor site (see illustration ). Scott C. Goodwin, MD, chief of vascular and interventional radiology, UCLA Medical Center, reported results of an ongoing phase I/II study of this new regional therapy technique at the annual scientific meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology.

NEW ORLEANS-Pathologic examination of an intraoperative frozen section of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) is less sensitive for breast cancer patients with smaller tumors and/or micrometa-static disease. In a recent study, use of routine frozen section avoided reoperation in only 4% of patients with T1a cancers, but was more useful in other stages, reported Martin R. Weiser, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.