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WASHINGTON--Selma Schimmel, a 15-year cancer survivor, brought a message to an international audience that most of them probably never expected to hear from a radio talk-show host. She urged oncology pharmacists to launch an aggressive outreach program to let cancer patients know that pharmacists can and do answer patients’ questions about chemotherapy and its side effects.

A new study by researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, published in the May 1st issue of Cell, has identified an enzyme crucial to the production of red blood cells and platelets.

NEW ORLEANS--Colon cancer-prone mice bred to lack the cyclooxy-genase 1 (COX1) enzyme have the same reduction in tumors as those bred to lack the cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) enzyme. This result suggests that both forms of COX may encourage tumor development, according to research reported by Patricia Chulada, PhD, at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

NEW ORLEANS--In a rousing session that opened the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 89th annual meeting, scientists reviewed recent good news in the war on cancer, while activists exhorted the audience--laypeople and scientists alike--not to be complacent because more progress is needed.

NEW ORLEANS--An altered adenovirus successfully delivered a normal p53 tumor-suppressor gene to several kinds of tumors, Jo Ann Horowitz, MD, clinical project director for Oncology Clinical Research, Schering-Plough Research Institute, Kenilworth, NJ, reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The need for an article such as the one by Little et al is a clear sign that progress is occurring in the treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). Without such progress, there would be no urgent need to refine the tools currently used to evaluate the activity of KS treatment.

Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Several characteristics of KS pose challenges for the conduct of clinical trials. Kaposi’s

Methods for detecting breast cancer are evolving as new technology provides a wider range of options for screening and definitive diagnosis. In addition to mammography and physical examination, screening techniques now include ultrasonography, technetium-99m sestamibi nuclear scanning, and magnetic resonance imaging.

A decade has passed since the first stereotactic-guided histologic breast biopsy was performed. Initially, the large-scale implementation of this technique met with a great deal of resistance from most surgeons, and more surprisingly, from many breast radiologists in academia.

HOUSTON--Urinary incontinence is a common complication of cancer and cancer therapies that can impose long-term effects on quality of life; yet, this condition remains underemphasized in this patient population, Dorothy Smith, RN, OCN, director of Clinic Relations, Des Chutes Medical, Bend, Oregon, said at M.D. Anderson’s 2nd annual nursing conference.

NEW ORLEANS--A test based on the newly developed monoclonal antibody NMP179 can detect both low-grade and high-grade cervical dysplasia, according to results presented at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. The developers believe the test might one day be used as a supplement to the Pap smear.

This paper will address various issues relevant to core-needle biopsy of the breast under stereotactic imaging guidance. Patient and equipment selection, indications, contraindications, complications, limitations, and advantages will be discussed. The role of stereotactic core biopsy in patient management will also be addressed.

ROCKVILLE, Md--Without taking a formal vote, the FDA’s Biological Response Modifiers Advisory Committee (BRMAC) indicated its support for the approval of a label expansion for CellPro’s Ceprate SC System.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has named its officers and directors for 1998-1999. Webster K. Cavenee, PhD, will serve as AACR president for 1998-1999 with Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, assuming the role of President-

BETHESDA, Md--Recruiting people from minority groups into clinical cancer trials calls for the biomedical community to be "compassionate, credible, and truthful" in how it portrays the value of those trials, Otis W. Brawley, MD, of the NCI’s Office of Special Populations Research, said at the American Society of Preventive Oncology annual meeting. "Physicians and medical institutions must have a good relationship with the people they serve," he said.

Early in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic, infection occurred disproportionately among older persons as a result of transmission through receipt of contaminated blood or blood products. Through 1989, receipt of contaminated

ARLINGTON, Va--When Arizona Oncology Associates (AOA), a 25-member group, "walked away" from a "bad" contract with a major local managed care organization (MCO), the practice prospered and the "majority of the patients we were caring for found ways to stay with us," Robert J. Brooks, MD, a medical oncologist in the group, said at the 24th Annual National Meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).

Helping Hand: The Resource Guide for People with Cancer, published by Cancer Care, Inc., is designed to “show what kinds of help are available, and where to find that help.” The second edition of A Helping Hand was recently released with updated listings, new sections (eg, using the Internet to find resources), and a myriad of information on national, regional, and local cancer-related organizations that provide important services for people with cancer. Included in the listings of A Helping Hand are the names of support groups, as well as medical information about a specific type of cancer, a second opinion, financial assistance, or hospice care.

NEW ORLEANS--Nutrition is a vital component of cancer management, yet nutritional assessment is still a very inexact science, Abby S. Bloch, PhD, RD, said at the 4th International Symposium on Nutrition and Cancer, sponsored by the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation and the Society for Nutritional Oncology Adjuvant Therapy.

A clinical pathway for pain management, developed by a task force of 18 registered nurses from Fox Chase Cancer Center and its network of community hospitals, was published in the January/February issue of Oncology Issues, the official journal

BETHESDA, Md--Over the next decade, Americans should put more effort into eating better and instituting chemoprevention trials to reduce cancer risks, said Peter Greenwald, MD, DrPH, acting director of the NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention.

BUFFALO, NY--Whole body hy-perthermia, similar to that of a prolonged mild fever, results in antitumor effects that may be due to increased immune system activity and increased induction of heat shock proteins (HSPs). "These proteins are the primary protectors of cells against further heat exposure and other stresses," said John Subjeck, PhD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, at the first meeting of the Regional Cancer Center Consortium for Biological Therapy of Cancer, hosted by Roswell Park.

WASHINGTON--Although once a "very profitable program" for cancer centers, bone marrow transplants now present major financial challenges and risks in today’s managed care environment, said Patricia J. Goldsmith, vice president for Managed Care and Business Development, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa.

Proposed changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement have “enormous implications for appropriate cancer treatment,” according to Joseph S. Bailes, MD, winner of this year’s Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) National Achievement Award. Accepting the prize at the ACCC’s 24th Annual National Meeting, Bailes, chairman of the Clinical Practice Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), added that he’s very concerned about the proposed changes. But he told of plans to streamline and strengthen ASCO’S public policy apparatus by: establishing a “more constant presence” in Congress; bringing all cancer professionals, advocacy groups, and academics under a single “big tent,” and solidifying ties with the patient community.

NEW YORK--Cancer Care, Inc. has just released the second edition of A Helping Hand: The Resource Guide for People with Cancer, with support from Zeneca Pharmaceuticals. The handbook is designed to show newly diagnosed cancer patients the kind of help that is available and where it can be found.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla--Given the existence of the cancer pain guidelines formulated by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), is there really a need for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) to develop practice guidelines on cancer pain? Yes, asserted Richard Payne, MD, at the NCCN’s third annual conference.

NEW ORLEANS--All acute pro-myelocytic leukemia (APL) patients who took part in a pilot clinical trial of arsenic trioxide went into remission, according to a paper presented at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

BUFFALO, NY--Animal studies have shown that interleukin-15 (IL-15) effectively protects the host from chemotherapy-induced diarrhea, with maintenance of antitumor activity, said Youcef Rustum, PhD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, at the first meeting of the Regional Cancer Center Consortium for Biological Therapy of Cancer, hosted by Roswell Park.

NEW ORLEANS--An extract derived from the seeds of red grapes, currently available as a dietary supplement (Activin), has been shown to reduce tumor cell growth in human breast, lung, and gastric cancer cell lines, S. S. Joshi, PhD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, reported at the American Association of Cancer Research 89th annual meeting. (See Figure showing the effects in breast cancer cells.)

SANTA MONICA, Calif--Just as physicians carry malpractice insurance for protection, managed care organizations also purchase insurance to protect against lawsuits. An insurance industry executive suggests that managed care plans may now need to increase their malpractice coverage, as risk liability appears to be shifting from the physicians who provide health care to the insurance plans that pay the medical bills.