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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--A federal panel has recommended to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) that it review and possibly test a group of products, including three herbs, for their potential to cause cancer or to lead to reproductive and developmental problems.

New research has found the gene responsible for Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, a rare inherited disorder that can lead to cancer in many different organs. Unexpectedly, the work may also have uncovered a new category of tumor-suppressor genes.

ORLANDO--For the first time, the keynote address at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) meeting was delivered by a psychiatrist--Dr. David Spiegel, of Stanford University School of Medicine--who advised the group on how to help their cancer patients cope with their diagnosis.

Approximately 10% of all epithelial ovarian carcinoma cases are associated with inheritance of an autosomal-dominant genetic mutation conferring a predisposition to cancer with variable penetrance. Two such manifestations

Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research are two new sciences that are beginning to affect the practice of oncology. As cost awareness in cancer care becomes acute, practicing oncologists must understand how to apply these sciences to their practices. This publication represents the proceedings of the symposium, Economics and Quality of Life in Oncology Clinical Practice, which was held on November 19, 1997, on the occasion of the EORTC meeting during The First European Conference on the Economics of Cancer. The presentations at the symposium provided an overview of some studies that have begun to explore the variety of activities comprising outcomes assessment, and how such data can be used to help deliver high quality patient care in a cost-conscious environment.

Cancer researchers and clinicians need to adopt a new attitude toward race classifications as interracial parentage in the United States continues to increase. “I want to uncouple race and genetics,” stated Edison Liu, MD, at the 1997 Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved, and Cancer held in Washington, DC.

Postmenopausal minority women can be successfully recruited for a program to reduce dietary fat and can achieve significant changes in their eating habits, stated Carolyn K. Clifford, phd, at the 1997 Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved, and Cancer in Washington, DC.

Of acute-care doctors and nurses responding to a national survey, 62% said that clinically hopeless patients have a “dignified death” in the hospital only “sometimes.” Another 33% said that this scenario occurs “frequently,” and just 5% said “always.”

Diet is a well-established factor in cancer prevention. According to two Baylor College of Medicine researchers, cultural factors play a more powerful role than cost in determining the food choices of people with low incomes. Speaking at the 1997 Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved, and Cancer, the researchers said that blacks and Hispanics typically eat a less healthy diet than whites, but not because of cost.

WASHINGTON--One of Shakespeare’s characters wanted to "kill all the lawyers." Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo) just wants to cap their legal fees, at least in any national tobacco agreement. In introducing a bill to limit any legal fees from a settlement to $150 an hour plus expenses, Rep. McInnis noted that some states have entered into contracts with private attorneys that called for payments of up to 25% of funds collected from tobacco cases.

BETHESDA, Md--The new consumer liaison group to the NCI director has chosen three of its 15 members to serve as co-chairs and has identified four areas of concern for its initial attention.

Regardless of their race, poor rural Americans face similar problems that make it extremely difficult for them to receive adequate health care, reported two experts at the 1997 Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved, and Cancer in Washington, DC. Many rural Americans are white working poor, noted Linda Linville, phd, assistant director for cancer control at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center in Lexington. Although they technically do not belong to a racial minority, white working poor individuals generally are among the medically underserved.

TUCSON--The Arizona Cancer Center has received a 5-year, $500,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Cancer Research Grant. Sydney E. Salmon, MD, Regents Professor of Medicine and director of the center, will serve as the grant administrator. Dr. Salmon announced the new funding at a ceremony held to dedicate the center’s $22.5 million expansion project adding 30 new cancer research laboratories to the center.

WASHINGTON--David Satcher, MD, PhD, won confirmation as US Surgeon General by a 63 to 35 vote after 75 members of the Senate voted to end a filibuster led by Sen. John D. Ashcroft (R-Mo).

WASHINGTON--The most effective way to reduce tobacco use in both the short and medium term is a $2 per pack increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes or some other equivalent means to raise the price of tobacco sharply, the National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded in a recent report.

Because many types of cancers metastasize to the lungs, early detection may affect both tumor staging and treatment planning. On the other hand, it is also important to refrain from subjecting patients to procedures that

Sphincter-preserving treatment with combined radiation and chemotherapy has replaced abdominoperineal resection as the standard of care for patients with carcinoma of the anal canal. Randomized studies have shown

Approximately 10% of all epithelial ovarian carcinoma cases are associated with inheritance of an autosomal-dominant genetic mutation conferring a predisposition to cancer with variable penetrance. Two such manifestations

Fatigue is a common and troubling symptom in patients with cancer or HIV/AIDS, resulting in significant disability and adverse effects on quality of life. Its etiology remains complex and is most likely multifactorial. Despite its

Sphincter-preserving treatment with combined radiation and chemotherapy has replaced abdominoperineal resection as the standard of care for patients with carcinoma of the anal canal. Randomized studies have shown

Malignant diseases of the vagina account for about 1% of gynecologic cancers. Approximately 95% of vaginal malignancies are squamous cell carcinomas. A variety of neoplasms have, however, been noted as arising in the vagina, and these are listed in Table 1. Like squamous cancer of the vulva, this disease occurs predominately in a geriatric population but occasionally is seen in premenopausal women.

Because many types of cancers metastasize to the lungs, early detection may affect both tumor staging and treatment planning. On the other hand, it is also important to refrain from subjecting patients to procedures that

Fatigue is a common and troubling symptom in patients with cancer or HIV/AIDS, resulting in significant disability and adverse effects on quality of life. Its etiology remains complex and is most likely multifactorial. Despite its

Gestational trophoblastic disease is a term applied to a rare group of tumors that have several common characteristics: the tumor cells arise in the fetal chorion during pregnancy; the vast majority of the tumors make human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG); the amount of hCG produced is proportional to the amount of viable tumor; and they are sensitive to a variety of cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents. Histopathologic diagnoses included in this group of tumors are:

Direct comparison of intravenous and oral 5-HT3 antagonists has shown equivalent efficacy if appropriate doses are given, thus allowing widespread use of the more convenient and economical oral route. Effective antiemesis generates additional cost savings by decreasing the resources necessary for salvage antiemetic preparation and administration, additional physician and nursing evaluation, clean-up and maintenance of the patient area, and possible additional hospitalization necessitated by uncontrolled emesis.

Approximately 10% of all epithelial ovarian carcinoma cases are associated with inheritance of an autosomal-dominant genetic mutation conferring a predisposition to cancer with variable penetrance. Two such manifestations

GW776C85 is a new drug that has been shown to be an effective inactivator of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD). Preclinical studies demonstrated that administration of GW776C85 with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resulted in several desirable pharmacologic effects. Initial clinical data on 5-FU combined with GW776C85 suggest potentially increased antitumor activity in at least some malignancies with tolerable toxicity, as well as several distinct economic and quality-of-life advantages including the following: (1) The possibility of administering 5-FU as an oral drug due to excellent bioavailability of 5-FU following inactivation of DPD; (2) a cost-effective alternative to continuous or protracted infusion of 5-FU without the need for hospitalization or surgical placement of an intravenous access and availability of an ambulatory pump; and (3) potential for less interpatient variation of 5-FU toxicity (eg, in host tissues, such as bone marrow and gastrointestinal mucosa cells) due to inactivation of DPD in essentially all patients treated, permitting better 5-FU dosing guidelines. Finally, because tumors may theoretically become resistant to 5-FU by increased levels of DPD, the use of GW776C85 to inactivate DPD may provide a potential means by which tumor resistance can be reversed. [ONCOLOGY(Suppl 4):51-56, 1998]

Fatigue is a common and troubling symptom in patients with cancer or HIV/AIDS, resulting in significant disability and adverse effects on quality of life. Its etiology remains complex and is most likely multifactorial. Despite its

Outcomes assessment describes a variety of activities, including classic clinical trials with quality of life and cost end points, observational studies examining the outcomes of treatment in the course of routine clinical care, and the process of managing patterns of care in clinical practice. These activities share important common features, including an emphasis on quality of life and economic outcomes, an explicit consideration of the importance of patient characteristics in determining outcomes, and a broad definition of what constitutes cancer care.

LOS ANGELES--California businessman Alfred E. Mann has donated $100 million each to the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to set up institutes for biomedical research.