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GAITHERSBURG, Md-The Food and Drug Administration’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has advised Zila, Inc., to take OraTest (tolonium chloride) back to the clinic for further testing. But members disagreed whether continuation of an ongoing clinical trial could provide the data necessary for the group to recommend approval of the test for detecting oral cancer, or if the company needs to undertake an entirely new study.

HOUSTON-The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) is approved for treatment of relapsed or refractory low-grade or follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but is less effective in small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), the tissue equivalent of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In the pivotal trial, the response rate for SLL patients was 13% vs 60% for those with follicular lymphoma.

SOUTHAMPTON, UK-New immunotherapeutic agents often come with big price tags, but the costs of treating relapsed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) with a new anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody may be lower than the costs of conventional therapy, according to an economic analysis by UK researchers. This was because the antibody (rituximab, Rituxan) caused fewer side effects and thus had lower costs related to adverse events, John Sweetenham, MD, reported at an ASH poster session.

SAN FRANCISCO-“The onset of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) has dramatically changed the epidemiology of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, leading to a 90% to 95% reduction in incidence among patients with AIDS,” W. Lawrence Drew, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, said at a conference on globally emerging viral infections.

SAN FRANCISCO-Recombinant human thrombopoietin (TPO) plus G-CSF (Neupogen) helps mobilize stem cells for collection better than G-CSF alone, Charles Linker, MD, said at the Fortieth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). In addition to showing efficacy in stem cell mobilization, the trial had a number of secondary objectives.

ROCHESTER, Minnesota-IDEC-Y2B8, an anti-CD20 murine monoclonal antibody (MoAB) conjugated to the radioisotope yttrium-90, appears to be effective in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients with splenomegaly, Thomas Witzig, MD, said at an ASH poster session. Some have considered splenomegaly a contraindication to MoAB therapy because of theoretical concerns about the spleen acting as an “antibody sink,” limiting efficacy.

MIAMI BEACH-Bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants after high-dose chemotherapy are becoming more widely used, but there is no standard method of purging graft material to remove tumor cells prior to transplant.

WASHINGTON-Walden-ström’s macroglobulinemia is a rare low-grade B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Patients with Waldenström’s also often have small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). Hyperviscosity in Waldenström’s responds temporarily to plasmapheresis. Alkylator therapy, fludarabine (Fludara), and cladribine (Leustatin) are effective in many cases, but there are no good options for patients refractory to purine analogs.

PORTLAND, Oregon-A phase III study presented at the ASH meeting shows that oprel-vekin (rhIL-11, Neumega) effectively prevents severe chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Additional benefits included accelerated neutrophil recovery and fewer cases of neutropenic fever.

RESTON, Virginia-A new Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study will determine if the drug thalidomide combined with radiation therapy will lengthen the survival time and time to recurrence in adults with glioblastoma multiforme, the most malignant type of brain tumor.

Administering cytarabine at levels substantially higher than the standard dose can cure nearly five times as many patients who have a certain type of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study.

In a session targeting novice bone marrow transplant (BMT) nurses, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) outlined what nurses should expect in treating BMT cases, from pretransplant to posttransplant, as well as related insurance and

PHOENIX-The poor hematopoiesis that occurs in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is due to a reduced ability to respond to growth factor stimulation. The result is that hematopoietic progenitor cells are lost faster than blood cells can be produced.

GAITHERSBURG, Md-The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has unanimously recommended the accelerated approval of Temodal Capsules (temozolomide, Schering-Plough) for the treatment of anaplastic astrocytoma at first relapse following treatment with a nitrosourea and procarbazine. Accelerated approval requires the company to conduct further research to demonstrate the drug’s safety and efficacy.

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) nurses need to educate themselves about their patients’ insurance coverage, said the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) at its Eighth Annual Fall Institute. First, nurses must verify that patients have coverage and

MIAMI BEACH-Ultimately, historians may call the sequencing of the human genome the “defining event of our age,” Barry S. Coller, MD, of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Dr. Coller, the outgoing president of ASH, chaired a policy symposium on the post-genome world.

HOUSTON-A novel nucleoside analog, known as compound 506U78, has significant activity in mature B-cell and T-cell leukemias, producing responses in patients whose disease is refractory to fludarabine (Fludara) and alkylating agents, investigators from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Glaxo Wellcome, Inc. reported at the ASH meeting.

Due to the psychosexual consequences and significant morbidity associated with the standard radical vulvectomy procedure, there has been a trend toward vulvar conservation in the management of women with vulvar cancer.

BETHESDA, Md-It is widely assumed that monoclonal antibodies will not work in bulky non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) because such agents require direct contact with target antigens expressed on tumor cell surfaces and cannot reach antigens inside tumor masses. Phase II data reported at ASH indicate this may not be true for rituximab (Rituxan).

MIAMI BEACH-As more cancer patients undergo allogeneic and autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) and bone marrow transplants, more long-term complications crop up. Two papers presented at the ASH meeting addressed the late effects of reduced bone density and development of therapy-related leukemia.

During the Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS) Eighth Annual Fall Institute Meeting, oncology nurses discussed guidelines for implementing clinical trials within office-based community practices.

ANGERS, France-Fludarbine (Fludara) and mitoxantrone (Novantrone) increased the 1-year complete remission rate in indolent lymphomas to 55%, compared with 11% using CHEP (doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vindesine, prednisone) in a multicenter European study reported at the ASH meeting.

CHICAGO-A new regimen that includes an anthracycline plus interferon-alfa-2b (Intron A) as induction chemotherapy of patients with low- or intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) appears to be as effective as CHOP, Sari Enschede, MD, of Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke Medical Center, said at an ASH poster session.

SAN DIEGO-“Currently, there are no standard response criteria for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as there are for solid tumors, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and Hodgkin’s disease,” Anonio J. Grillo-López, MD, said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

HOUSTON-Treatment with topotecan (Hycamtin) and high-dose cytarabine can produce high complete remission rates in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), even in patients with poor-prognosis cytogenetic features and secondary MDS, Miloslav Beran, MD, PhD, DVM, of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, said at ASH.

The University of Michigan (U-M) Comprehensive Cancer Center has launched an Internet site to serve the growing online community of cancer patients seeking trustworthy medical information. The web site, which is located at

SAN FRANCISCO-A new center for alternative medicine, one of only a handful in the nation, will soon open at the Biomedical Research Institution of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), educators announced at a symposium on integrative care.

Findings released from a national survey underscore what cancer patients already know: The fatigue following chemotherapy treatment has a sweeping impact on patients’ physical and emotional health, as well as their economic well-being.

PHILADELPHIA-Patients with intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) whose disease progresses after high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant have few options among conventional regimens. However, Donald E. Tsai, MD, PhD, reported at the ASH meeting that the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) is active in this situation.

NEW YORK-High-dose liposome-encapsulated daunorubicin (DaunoXome) with G-CSF support appears promising in solid tumors, a team led by George D. Demetri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, reported at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium.