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LOS ANGELES--If the basic protocol for imparting bad news to cancer patients could be reduced to a T-shirt slogan, it would be, "Before you tell, ask," Robert Buckman, MD, PhD, said at an educational session on breaking bad news to cancer patients at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. "Find out the patient’s expectations before you give information," he said.

WASHINGTON--Up to one-third of callers to the National Cancer Institute’s hot line for cancer information(1-800-4-CANCER) get a busy signal or hang up because of the long wait for someone to pick up, according to a report by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

LOS ANGELES--Visitors to the Exhibitor’s Hall at this year’s ASCO meeting had the opportunity to walk in the shoes of a patient with cancer-related fatigue at Ortho-Biotech’s In My Steps virtual reality experience, developed in cooperation with cancer patients and the Fatigue Coalition.

In his article, "Genetic Testing for Cancer Susceptibility: Challenges for Creators of Practice Guide-lines" [11(11A):171-176, 1997], Henry Greely, JD, provides a comprehensive review of the complex issues that patients consider when deciding

BETHESDA, Md--NIH director Harold Varmus, MD, has named Neal Nathanson, MD, to serve as the new director of NIH’s Office of AIDS Research (OAR). Dr. Nathanson, a leader in viral pathogenesis, comes to the NIH from the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, where he was Vice Dean for Research and Research Training. He is an active member of the NIH AIDS Vaccine Research Committee, chaired by Dr. David Baltimore.

LOS ANGELES--An exhibit featuring works by five women artists who have lived with cancer was displayed in conjunction with the 1998 Oncology Nursing Society and ASCO meetings.

At its 15th Annual Human Services Award Dinner in New York, Cancer Care, Inc, honored Cokie Roberts with its Regulus Award for members of the media, Carol Webb of Ortho Biotech with its Human Services Award, and H. Frank Doroff of

SAN DIEGO--Since thrombopoie-tin (TPO), the ligand for the Mpl receptor, was cloned by four separate laboratories in 1994, researchers have been exploring, with animal models and in clinical settings, how it can be used to benefit patients. Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, a prominent researcher in the field, summarized some of the results of the studies to date, at the Sixth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, sponsored by the University of California, San Diego.

WASHINGTON--One in four Americans starting treatment for HIV infection does not receive care that meets the most up-to-date and recognized standards, according to the results of the first National HIV/AIDS Treatment Survey.

NEW ORLEANS--A mutation in the gene for E-cadherin may partly explain the high rate of stomach cancer among the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, Parry Guilford, PhD, a research fellow in the Cancer Genetics Laboratory, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, reported at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The Jefferson Cancer Network of Thomas Jefferson University’s Kimmel Cancer Center recently established a cooperative program known as the Jefferson Oncology Group among its members. The purpose of this new cooperative program is to

Scientists at Ohio University Edison Biotechnology Institute have used a nonviral gene expression system, invented and patented by Ohio University several years ago, to eliminate human cancer cells in animals. The investigators reported achieving

HOUSTON--About 50% of patients function well when dealing with the diagnosis of cancer, but the other 50% need assistance adapting to the trauma brought on by the disease and its treatment, Debra Sivesind, RN, said at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center’s 2nd Annual Nursing Conference.

BETHESDA, Md--In an effort to increase participation in clinical trials, the National Cancer Institute is developing a marketing campaign aimed at selling patients on the importance of taking part in experimental treatments. "This effort represents a new and an important activity by NCI," director Richard D. Klausner told the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB). "The marketing initiative is aimed at developing approaches to getting the word out about the value and the opportunities of clinical trials," he said.

WASHINGTON--A leading House Democrat has urged his colleagues to approve the funds necessary to make a proposed National Environmental Childhood Cancer Registry a reality.

BETHESDA, Md--National Cancer Institute officials have committed themselves to providing information to women and their physicians to help women make an informed decision whether to take tamoxifen (Nolvadex) to prevent breast cancer. But some members of the NCI’s own advisory board have questioned whether the information provided to date is too complex for most women to grasp.

NEW YORK--American and European epidemiologic surveys indicate that as many as 90% of patients with end-stage cancer have pain severe enough to warrant treatment with opioid drugs. Other surveys indicate that this pain is widely undertreated. A survey of roughly 1,100 oncologists in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) showed that poor assessment of pain is perhaps the most common cause of inadequate treatment.

BALTIMORE, Md--The Maryland legislation has passed an historic bill requiring insurers, including managed care companies, to pay the patient care costs for patients enrolled in clinical trials. The law takes effect January 1999.

LOS ANGELES--The Vital Options TeleSupport Cancer Network, established by cancer survivor Selma Schimmel, has opened nominations for a new program: "Vital Lives: A List of Cancer Survivors."

ROCKVILLE, Md--The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed rules that would give manufacturers greater flexibility in disseminating information about the safety, effectiveness, or benefits of "off label" uses of drugs, biologics, and medical devices. The new regulations will implement provisions of the FDA Modernization Act of 1997, enacted last year.

WASHINGTON--The mission of the FDA has historically been to respond to public needs and to protect public health, and the 1997 Modernization Act "will not divert the agency from this agenda," Michael Friedman, MD, the FDA’s lead deputy commissioner, said at a consumer forum sponsored by the FDA’s Office of Consumer Affairs.

Drs. McCarty and Kuhn have brought the readers up-to-date on a new technology--cryosurgery--that is available to treat malignant and benign tumors in the liver. The authors are cautiously optimistic regarding the ultimate success of this therapy. They present the current data, which were generated in patient groups that are the most difficult to treat--those with "unresectable" disease.

SAN DIEGO--Not wishing to be a self-contained island of clinical research in a region with a wealth of private cancer specialists, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center established a community outreach program to involve more oncologists in clinical trials, a program that now includes autologous transplants of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs), Leona Holmberg, MD, an associate in the clinical division at Hutch-inson, said at a conference sponsored by the University of California, San Diego.

Approximately 25 million persons each year in the United States are tested for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Publicly funded counseling and testing (CT) programs conduct approximately 2.5 million of these tests each year.

BETHESDA, Md--Forget about a better mousetrap, the National Cancer Institute wants to build better mice.

BUFFALO, NY--The cornerstone of a $241.1 million dollar major modernization project was unveiled at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The new Diagnostic and Treatment Center and patient tower (Figure 1) feature state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, radiotherapy, surgery, postanesthesia care, and intensive care units. The 5-year renovation of the 25-acre campus coincides with the Institute’s centennial anniversary.

WASHINGTON--National tobacco legislation may be decidedly down, but it is not definitely dead. Following the two votes in the Senate that defeated the comprehensive tobacco bill sponsored by Sen. John McCain(R-Ariz), Republicans and Democrats alike vowed to continue efforts to pass some form of legislation. But politicians throughout Congress are in such discord on details that many doubt any tobacco legislation will clear Congress and win the President’s signature in 1998.

NEW YORK--A new breast care center in New York City is offering same-day diagnosis, consultation with an on-site reconstructive surgeon, and an array of innovative services.

ORLANDO--Preoperative chemotherapy in breast cancer patients can leave a surgeon in the dark as to the specific amount of normal tissue to remove if the chemotherapy eliminates the tumor or renders it no longer palpable. A simple tattoo outlining the original tumor site can be a great aid in helping surgeons determine the type of surgery to be performed after the therapy.

MILAN, Italy--The cardiotoxicity seen in preliminary studies of bolus doxorubicin (Adriamycin) plus 3-hour paclitaxel (Taxol) (AT) proved to be reversible and mostly confined to patients who received more than 6 cycles of therapy, according to follow-up data presented at the ASCO meeting.