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MONTREAL-The rising worldwide incidence of microbial resistance stems from a wide variety of causes and does not reflect a single global trend or etiology, Prof. Dr. Bernd Wiedemann, University of Bonn, Germany, said at a plenary session of the 19th International Congress of Chemotherapy.

LUXEMBOURG-Outpatient oral antibiotic therapy can be as effective and safe as outpatient parenteral therapy in the treatment of febrile neutropenia, according to the latest trial results from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's Ambulatory and Supportive Care Oncology Research Program (ASCORP).

BUFFALO, NY-While a combination of pleurectomy and intracavitary photodynamic therapy marginally improves survival rates for some patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, "there exists no compelling evidence that treatment of any kind is superior to no treatment," reported Hiroshi Takita, MD, DSc, chief of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

SAN FRANCISCO-Low-dose intravenous acyclovir (Zovirax) provides effective prophylaxis against Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection or reactivation in leukemic patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy, Carole Miller, MD, said at the 35th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).

LOS ANGELES-Researchers at the AIDS Institute of UCLA have identified an HIV gene that appears to play a role in HIV immunosuppression by inhibiting reproduction of CD4+ T cells

MARINA DEL REY, Calif-A detailed financial analysis of the costs associated with chemotherapy delivery showed home health care costs to be, on average, 2.5 times higher than those incurred in an outpatient clinic setting, said Patrick A. Grusenmeyer, MPA, financial administrator for the Ochsner Cancer Institute, New Orleans.

SAN FRANCISCO-Two separate clinical trials have demonstrated that triple combination antiretroviral therapy maintains its superiority over double therapy in the extended treatment of HIV infection, although neither study included clinical morbidity as an endpoint.

SAN FRANCISCO-Amphotericin B lipid complex may be the treatment of choice for patients with hematogenous or invasive candidiasis, Elias J. Anaissie, MD, said at the 35th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).

MARINA DEL REY, Calif-Every physician needs to know the value of his or her practice, especially in this era of change-when mergers, affiliations, partner buy-ins or buy-outs, and outright sales of practices are common, Kim R. Johnson, RN, said at the annual conference of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).

MARINA DEL REY, Calif-In today's health care environment, the providers of cancer care must determine not only how to market their services but also whom to market them to, Patti A. Jamieson, MSSW, MBA, said at the annual Conference of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).

SILVER SPRING, Md-The FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has voted 6 to 0 with one abstention to recommend that Rhône-Poulenc Rorer's Taxotere (docetaxel) be approved for the treatment of patients with anthracycline-resistant locally advanced or metastatic breast carcinoma.

Control of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is a major concern for patients receiving cancer therapy and a major quality of life issue. However, the fact that antiemetic control improves quality (but not duration) of

WASHINGTON-Programs designed to encourage drug addicts not to share needles can help reduce the spread of HIV, a National Academy of Sciences panel said in its report to Congress. The report may pave the way for a change in government policy to allow the use of federal funds to support such programs.

WASHINGTON-US spending on research and development has fallen over the last 20 years from 3% to 2.6% of the Gross Domestic Product, and the United States now ranks behind Japan and Germany in R&D spending, according to a study released by the Institute for the Future, a California-based think tank sponsored by 23 research-oriented pharmaceutical companies.

BALTIMORE-Although standard imaging methods are not sensitive enough to catch early-stage pancreatic tumors, positron emission tomography (PET), currently under investigation for this purpose, may prove to be a useful addition to CT scans, said Karl F. Hubner, MD, professor of radiology, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville. Dr. Hubner spoke, along with Pankaj Jay Pasricha, MD, at a meeting on nuclear medicine sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

PARIS-Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Inc.'s Campto (irinotecan/CPT-11), the first new therapeutic agent for the treatment of colorectal cancer since the introduction of fluorouracil nearly 40 years ago, is now available in France. France is the first country outside Japan to approve this agent for marketing.

MONTREAL-The newest beta-lactam plus beta-lactamase inhibitor combination, piperacillin/tazobactam (Zosyn), when combined with amikacin, is highly effective for empiric treatment of patients with febrile granulocyto-penia, Jean A. Klastersky, MD, said at the 19th International Congress of Chemotherapy. He was speaking at a symposium sponsored by Lederle/Wyeth-Ayerst International, manufacturer of Zosyn.