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SAN FRANCISCO--For both nurses and their patients, home care is becoming an increasingly cost-effective and satisfactory alternative to longer hospital stays. At the Oncology Nursing Society Annual Congress, several speakers discussed methods used at their institutions to improve home health services.

Phase III clinical trial data for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitor amprenavir (Agenerase) suggest that the drug may be potent and generally well-tolerated in combination with lamivudine (Epivir) and zidovudine (AZT [Retrovir]). These data, presented at the 38th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), support the role of amprenavir in front-line combination antiretroviral therapy.

Two of the most distressing side effects of cancer treatment, nausea and vomiting, cause enough fear in some patients to induce them to delay or abandon potentially curative treatment. Some studies of surgical patients suggest that the fear of

WASHINGTON--Genetic research has produced a growing body of information about the mutations related to breast cancer, but, so far, "no clear algorithm" to help clinicians decide how to use the new findings in the interests of patients, reported Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.

The January issue of Science reported that researchers had successfully extended the lifespan of normal human cells using the enzyme telomerase to lengthen telomeres. Reaction to these initial findings was guarded. Oncologists were concerned that the process could be cancerous. Now, new research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) demonstrated that these cells continue to divide and maintain normal structure and function and do not progress toward cancer.

WASHINGTON--It wasn’t all rhetoric and oration at The March. It was also a time for reflection on loved ones lost and hope for the future; a time to celebrate survivorship and bond in a way only survivors understand; a time to learn more about cancer

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation announced recently its first grant awards, totaling more than $4.2 million, under the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Award Program. The program was developed to enable promising young scientists conducting

Phase III clinical trial data for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitor amprenavir (Agenerase) suggest

HORSHAM, Penn--Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has completed a phase I clinical trial of Spartaject busulfan, an injectable form of busulfan, an agent that is poorly water soluble and currently available only in tablet form.

ORLANDO--Case rate contracting for reimbursement of stem cell and bone marrow transplants has many benefits, and these can be maximized through careful, efficient record keeping, said Jonathan Patten, manager of contracting at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle. With this payment method, payers and providers negotiate a flat rate to be paid for each transplant patient.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla--Is brachy-therapy for prostate cancer a ‘gimmick’ or a new treatment technique with numerous advantages over either radical prostatectomy or external beam radiotherapy? Very definitely the latter, Jay Friedland, MD, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, said at the Southern Association for Oncology (SAO) 11th annual meeting.

SAN DIEGO--The longest follow-up studies to date on dose-intensive therapy with peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow support in patients with Hodgkin’s disease or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) show some promising results with specific drug regimens.

WASHINGTON--On the day of The March, President Clinton announced two new cancer initiatives and issued a challenge to cancer researchers that sounded more like a "Mission Impossible" assignment.

WASHINGTON--Calling "The March" the first truly large-scale grass roots demonstrative effort to focus attention on cancer, Allen S. Lichter, MD, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, used the event as a backdrop to discuss the Society’s three key policy recommendations for accelerating advances in cancer research and treatment.

WASHINGTON--On the night before The March, as she waited for a candlelight vigil to begin, Ruth Kirkhuff talked about the son she lost to brain cancer and why she had journeyed here from Derry, New Hampshire. Matthew’s tumor was diagnosed at age 11 months, and he died Sept. 2, 1994. "We had a lot of ups and downs," she said. "Being here helps me keep his memory alive."

One in 20 Americans will require a blood transfusion at some point in their lives. Yet, many remain uninformed about the reason for transfusions, the risks associated with them, and ways to avoid or minimize them. Pall Corporation has launched a

WASHINGTON--The number of deaths in the United States from AIDS dropped by 47% last year, nearly double the decline recorded in 1996. The age-adjusted AIDS death rate in 1997 was 5.9 deaths per 100,000 population vs 11.1 per 100,000 in 1996.

NEW YORK--Fatigue related to cancer or its treatment does not go away after a good night’s rest, and may last a month or longer. In the cancer setting, there may be many reasons for chronic fatigue, Lois Almadrones, RN, MPA, clinical research associate, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said at a Cancer Care teleconference for cancer patients.

The University of Minnesota Cancer Center has been designated a "comprehensive cancer center" by the National Cancer Institute. To quality for the title "comprehensive," a center must conduct basic and clinical research, as well as prevention, control, and population studies; exhibit a strong body of interactive research bridging these key areas; and have outreach, education, and information programs in place. Only 35 of the 58 NCI-designated cancer centers meet the requirements for the "comprehensive" designation.

NEW YORK--Some oncology social workers got a chance to talk about their problems with a psychiatrist at a Cancer Care seminar, and they not only got to ventilate, they got some good advice and some laughs. The psychiatrist was Samuel C. Klagsbrun, MD, executive medical director of Four Winds Hospital, Westchester County, New York, who has been called in to help entire medical school faculties and even hospitals when demoralization sets in.

SAN FRANCISCO--As AIDS has become a chronic disease, not necessarily a fatal one, HIV-infected patients are increasingly turning to family physicians and other primary care providers for medical care. And such providers are getting on-the-job experience in delivering a very complex therapy--antiretroviral drugs.

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario, Canada--Survivors of childhood cancer may not be completely aware of their disease, their treatments, and potential late effects of treatment, Cristina M. Checka said at a conference on long-term complications of childhood cancer, hosted by Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

SAN FRANCISCO--Establishing clinical care guidelines for hereditary (BRCA1 or BRCA2) breast cancer is increasingly important for managed care organizations as well as private physicians, Susan Kutner, MD, said at the American Cancer Society Second National Conference on Cancer Genetics.

SAN DIEGO--New data on rituximab (Rituxan), a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, show a projected median time to progression of 13 months among patients who responded to the drug (76 of 166 patients with relapsed or refractory indolent lymphoma). To date, nearly 70% of these patients (53) continue to respond to outpatient therapy with rituximab; only nine have died, all of progressive lymphoma.

The University of Minnesota Cancer Center has been designated a "comprehensive cancer center" by the National Cancer Institute. To quality for the title "comprehensive," a center must conduct basic and clinical research, as well as prevention,

WASHINGTON--Results of a new national survey underscore what cancer patients already know: The fatigue that commonly follows chemotherapy has a sweeping impact on patients’ physical and emotional health, as well as their economic well being.

PHILADELPHIA--The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) has just begun work on a potentially ground-breaking study of the use of radioactive seed implants (brachytherapy) for cancer that is confined to the prostate gland. The study will be the first multi-institutional evaluation of the treatment. To date, a number of single-institution studies have been conducted, showing the technique to be effective in controlling the disease.

BETHESDA, Md--"Patient satisfaction" is one measure used to assess the need for quality improvements in the hospital setting. However, since "satisfaction" is a personal evaluation by the patient of health services or providers, the parameters being measured may vary widely

Over the past several years, a number of biotechnology companies have developed enhanced screening methods designed to improve Pap smear accuracy. Until recently, however, these screening methods were used only as quality control devices, ie, as a way for laboratories to check their work. Since federal guidelines only require that 10% of all slides be rescreened, there is still an opportunity for error.

Given the clinical utility of myeloid growth factors and erythropoietin (Epogen, Procrit) in the management of many cancer patients, it is understandable that the cloning and introduction into clinical trials of thrombopoietin was greeted with great expectations for the future utilization of this molecule in oncology. Drs. Prow and Vadhan-Raj have written a well-referenced review that summarizes the preclinical biology of thrombopoietin and the evidence that it is the physiologic regulator of thrombopoiesis in animals and humans. The authors also synopsize some of the data from early clinical trials. My own interpretation of the clinical data obtained to date with both the full-length clone (recombinant human thrombopoietin [rhTPO]) and the pegylated, truncated molecule (pegylated recombinant human megakaryocyte growth and development factor [PEG-rHuMGDF]) differs somewhat from both our initial expectations and the perspective provided by the authors.