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We are entering an extraordinary era in the treatment of patients with indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL). Several decades were devoted to expending resources on comparing combinations and permutations of conventional agents, but with no beneficial impact on survival.

While in Denmark under an ASTRO/ESTRO fellowship travel grant, Dr. Brian Kavanagh spoke with a number of oncologists at the University of Aarhus about their research and the practice of oncology in Denmark. In this essay, he skillfully weaves Danish history, philosophy, customs, and landscape into his interviews with four eminent Danish physicians.

In his 1975 New England Journal of Medicine review article on bone marrow transplantation, Nobel laureate E. Donnall Thomas listed the major obstacles to successful transplantation as donor availability, graft-vs-host disease (GVHD), treatment-

Managed care is transforming numerous aspects of health care delivery, and the specialty of oncology, in particular, is being increasingly affected for several reasons.

The introduction of any new analgesic agent or delivery system is often focused on efficacy of the agent or on considerations of use by health care professionals. Introduction of novel pain technologies should also consider the

The therapeutic benefit of allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation is due largely to an immune graft-vs-malignancy effect. Most of the evidence for such an effect has come from studies of allogeneic transplantation in

The economic considerations relative to neuraxial infusion can be looked at with different types of economic models, including cost-minimization, cost-effectiveness, and cost-benefit analyses. A theoretical predictive model

Pain is the most common symptom of advanced cancer. For most cancer patients, pain can be controlled with

Dr. Peter Staats presented the case of a 15-year-old, 40-kg boy with a primitive neurectodermal tumor located in

Neuraxial infusion therapy is an excellent option for selected patients with severe pain. Both epidural and intrathecal systems can be effective for multiple pains and are titratable, nondestructive, and very safe.

The pharmacologic tailoring guidelines of the World Health Organization represent the accepted treatment algorithm for the management of cancer-related pain syndromes. Unfortunately, the guidelines are only effective

Large surveys of populations with cancer pain indicate that as many as 90% of patients can attain adequate relief of pain using optimal, systemic, opioid-based pharmacotherapy. Skilled clinicians should be able to achieve

Intraspinal drug delivery systems can be effective in controlling intractable pain. However, before these invasive pain therapies are initiated and to avoid or minimize any complications associated with their use, there

There are several million breast cancer survivors worldwide. In the United States, 180,000 women were

Recent trials comparing single-agent vs combination therapy in metastatic breast cancer suggest that it may be time to reconsider the belief that combination chemotherapy is the gold standard of treatment. Based on the

Integrating spirituality into oncology social work practice is appropriate, feasible, and necessary, said Mary Ellen

SAN ANTONIO-For patients with high-grade dysplasia in Barrett’s esophagus, photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be a useful minimally invasive option.

ATLANTA-In 1995, an estimated 47 million adults in the United States were current smokers. A “Profile of Smokers” from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures-1999 shows that, in that year, smoking prevalence was higher for men (27%) than women (22.6%) and highest among American Indians/Alaskan natives (36.2%), compared with other racial and ethnic groups.

Surgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are using a new technique to “melt” away cancerous liver tumors. The

NEW YORK-“Up until about 10 years ago, we had no clear vision about what marijuana does in the brain,” Billy R. Martin, PhD, professor of pharmacology, Medical College of Virginia, said at the Third Conference on Pain Management and Chemical Dependency.

WASHINGTON-A triad of federal agencies has launched an educational campaign, known as ‘Screen for Life,” aimed at alerting older Americans to the importance of screening for colorectal cancer and its potential for saving lives.

ANAHEIM, Calif-“Mathematical modeling of cancer risk involves a number of unknown or inadequately understood relationships and factors, but still can provide worthwhile hypotheses for further testing,” Troyce Jones, MS, senior research scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said at a symposium on environmental hazards and cancer at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

COLUMBUS, Ohio-Patients with cancer cachexia have been successfully treated in a small clinical trial with the oral administration of a high-calorie nutritional supplement combined with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid derived from fish oil, Kenneth C. H. Fearon, FRCS, said at the Society for Nutritional Oncology Adjuvant Therapy (NOAT) annual congress.

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.