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Today, more emphasis is being placed on quality of life assessment in the evaluation of the efficacy of medical care.[1,2] A new study, described below, along with other international quality of life studies, suggests that physicians and their patients may place different values on different health outcomes of treatment, depending on socioeconomic status and cultural milieu.

Thousands of practice guidelines/practice parameters have been published by various professional organizations. The American Medical Association,[1] American College of Physicians,[2,3] and others[4-6] have written extensively about

The development of a new drug is not only complex but also requiresa major investment in time, resources, patients, and most important, a

Spiegel and Moore draw an important distinction between the use of psychological techniques to promote quality of life and their use to promote quantity of life. On the one hand, a considerable body of research documents that hypnosis and other psychological techniques improve the quality of life of cancer patients. On the other hand, only limited empiric evidence supports the view that imagery and other psychological techniques increase the quantity of life of cancer patients.

Many patients with cancer often seek some means of connecting their mental activity with the unwelcome events occurring in their bodies, via techniques such as imagery and hypnosis. Hypnosis has been shown to be an

The results from preclinical studies using murine tumor models show that the combination of docetaxel (Taxotere) and fluorouracil (5-FU) is highly synergistic. Phase I studies in patients

WASHINGTON--Gastroenterologists and urologists routinely perform digital rectal examinations (DREs) on their patients and therefore are in a good position to also do regular colorectal cancer screening via fecal occult blood testing and to look for prostate abnormalities via a prostate examination.

WILMINGTON, Del--A Federal judge has ordered CellPro, Inc. to pay Johns Hopkins University, Becton Dickinson & Company, and Baxter Healthcare Corp. $7 million in damages for its willful infringement of patents involving stem cell selection technology.

BETHESDA, Md--A review of 10 years' experience with HIV-infected patients treated at University Hospital, Newark, NJ, revealed significantly elevated levels of several types of cancers, but a surprising dearth of invasive cervical cancers, which prompted the study's lead author to suggest dropping cervical cancer from the list of AIDS-associated malignancies.

HUNTINGTON, NY--Health care professionals can now enjoy a daily cancer newspaper with their morning coffee--by logging on to the Cancer Information Network's daily news journal Oncology News International Today.

BETHESDA, Md--The NCI is calling for nominations for a new initiative--the Director's Consumer Liaison Group (DCLG). This group will help the NCI increase the representation of the cancer advocacy community on NCI advisory committees and increase the involvement of consumer advocates in program and policy development.

SAN FRANCISCO--Although malignant mesothelioma, a tumor usually found in the pleurae, is still uncommon, its incidence has been rising over the past two decades, probably due to long-term exposures to asbestos, Henri G. Colt, MD, said at a panel session at the American Lung Association/American Thoracic Society 1997 International Conference.

Karen T. Pitman, MD: We will be discussing the case of a 64-year-old woman who was referred to the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, with the chief complaint of a nonhealing ulcer in the oral cavity that

ASCO--Two randomized trials have shown that an oral serotonin antagonist, granisetron (Kytril) tablets, is equal in safety and efficacy to an intravenous drug of the same class in preventing emesis in patients undergoing emetogenic chemotherapy.

Although it is clear that diet plays a role in the etiology of many cancers, making dietary recommendations to reduce risk is highly complicated, if possible at all, according to an international cancer prevention expert.

Newer radiation treatments--brachytherapy and conformal radiotherapy--were discussed at a symposium at the 1996 meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Los Angeles.

Infant screening for neuroblastoma, one of the most common forms of solid tumors in young children, fails to detect the most severe form of the disease, according to a group of international researchers led by University of Minnesota faculty. After

WASHINGTON--Myles Cunningham, MD, president of the American Cancer Society (ACS), announced new ACS guidelines for screening and surveillance for early detection of colorectal polyps and cancer. The announcement came at a press briefing held during Digestive Disease Week.

An estimated one-third of HIV-positive women who smoke during pregnancy and do not take zidovudine (AZT [Retrovir]) may pass HIV on to their babies.

SAN FRANCISCO--The movie critics Siskel and Ebert rate good movies with a "thumbs up" sign and bad ones with "thumbs down." Now, the Sacramento-Emigrant Trails Affiliate of the American Lung Association (ALA) is using these symbols to rate movies and TV shows in their portrayal of smoking.

NEW ORLEANS--Integrated health care systems, such as HMOs, offer clear advantages for epidemiologic research, Edward Wagner, MD, MPH, said at the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) annual meeting. Dr. Wagner is director of the Center for Health Studies of Group Health Cooperative, a Seattle-based HMO.

Albert H. Owens, Jr, MD, President of the National Coalition for Cancer Research (NCCR), urged the National Cancer Policy Board to "focus on the policies and practices affecting cancer research because, without doubt, research is the

BETHESDA, Md--A directory of genetic counselors, physicians, geneticists, and nurses who have expertise in counseling about familial risk for cancer and testing for genetic susceptibility is available on CancerNet, an online cancer information service developed and maintained by the NCI's International Cancer Information Center (ICIC).

NEW ORLEANS--Oral pain and mucositis occur predictably after bone marrow transplant for leukemia, and although the pain is usually described as mild to moderate, it is unlikely to be completely relieved, Deborah B. McGuire, PhD, of Emory University, said at the Oncology Nursing Society's 22nd Annual Congress.

ASCO--The investigational agent temozolomide (Temodal) has shown activity in patients with relapsed anaplastic astrocytoma or oligoastrocytoma, with a tolerable side effects profile, said Victor Levin, MD, speaking for the Temodal Brain Tumor Group, a multidisciplinary worldwide group that participated in the investigation.

WASHINGTON--The Marlboro Man's long-anticipated final ride into the sunset will likely be delayed, as the proposed tobacco settlement that would ban his image appears to be headed for a long and heated debate.

BETHESDA, Md--It's time to recycle some old ideas in AIDS vaccines, Nobel laureate David Baltimore, PhD, told the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health.

ASCO--Data from a large multi-center European study has confirmed the superiority of five years of tamoxifen (Nolvadex) therapy as opposed to two or three years in postmenopausal breast cancer patients. When longer follow-up data are available, the trial will be able to determine whether even longer duration of tamoxifen (12 to 13 years) might provide additonal benefits.

HOUSTON--Controversy continues to shroud the issue of how single and multiple brain metastases should be treated, Moshe H. Maor, MD, said at a symposium on CNS cancer, sponsored by The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where he is a radiation oncologist.

PALM BEACH, Fla--With more early-stage prostate cancers being detected, and with growing demand from patients, use of brachytherapy in prostate cancer is expected to increase substantially over the next decade, John C. Blasko, MD, said at the American Brachytherapy Society meeting.