All News

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.

BETHESDA, Md--The National Cancer Institute has announced a new program to give outstanding new scientists their first crack at independent research, and to do so for up to four years in NCI labs.

BOSTON--A medical center that has gone to a completely filmless radiology department got a show of support from the medical and surgical staff.

WASHINGTON--Sulindac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), is known to prevent the growth of adenomas and cause their regression in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, but data are limited for its effects in the more common sporadic adenomas.

ASCO--Pooled data from the three pivotal US phase II studies of irinotecan (Camptosar) show that, at the preferred 125 mg/m² dose, the agent has consistent antitumor activity and manageable toxicity in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer.

Bernard Salick, the man some call a medical visionary, does not brood on his setbacks. A mere 24 hours after Zeneca Group PLC had assumed total control of Salick Health Care, the Southern California nephrologist had launched yet another medical enterprise--Bentley Health Care.

BETHESDA, Md--The new Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institutes of Health will expand upon efforts to find an effective AIDS vaccine and will neither replace research at universities and other institutions nor diminish their federal funding, William E. Paul, MD, told a meeting of the NIH director's advisory committee. "We see this as an add-on activity," said Dr. Paul, associate NIH director for AIDS research.

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

This special series on cancer and genetics is compiled and edited by Henry T. Lynch, MD, director of the Hereditary Cancer Institute, professor of medicine, and chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Creighton University School of Medicine, and director of the Creighton Cancer Center, Omaha, Nebraska. Part I of this three-part series on pancreatic cancer appeared in June 1997. Part II (below) reviews the gene mutations thought to contribute to the development of hereditary pancreatic cancer, and Part III will explores the clinical recognition of a hereditary predisposition to pancreatic cancer.

In the May, 1997, issue of Oncology News International , the updated eight-year results of NSABP protocol B-17 were reported as presented by Dr. Bernard Fisher in Paris. B-17 randomized patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) into two groups: One group received excision only, the other excision plus postoperative radiation therapy.

The article by Dr. Burt provides an excellent summary of the rationale for using high-dose therapy with autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in patients with severe autoimmune diseases (SADS). The article also describes the approach to BMT adopted by Dr. Burt and colleagues at Northwestern University. Enthusiasm for this form of therapy has been contagious, and numerous US investigators have initiated similar trials, which are outlined in Table 1 of the article.

The article by Meredith and LoBuglio represents a thorough description of the clinical strategies that have been attempted with radioimmunoconjugates. The authors appropriately point to the extraordinary promise of these agents in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. They also acknowledge the disappointments that have been encountered in the systemic therapy of solid tumors, while noting that there may be some reason for optimism regarding locoregional administration of radioimmunoconjugates.

Colorectal carcinoma is a common problem in the United States, and the liver is the most frequent site of metastatic disease. Because there is a good pharmacologic rationale for the use of hepatic intra-arterial (HIA) therapy, and because of the disappointing survival observed with systemic chemotherapy, studies of hepatic arterial infusion have been conducted.

Studies of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation as a treatment for severe autoimmune diseases (SADS) are currently in progress. Dr. Burt thoroughly reviews the rationale for these studies. It includes: (1) preclinical studies showing that marrow transplantation is an effective therapy in animal models of autoimmune disease; (2) observations of the effect of stem-cell grafts on SADS in patients transplanted for other indications; and (3) improvements in the safety of the transplant procedure.