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An expert panel of 10 international cancer researchers and practicing oncologists met in Boston to discuss the past, present, and future uses of antiestrogens in the treatment of breast cancer. The first four articles in this series, based on the symposium presentations, appeared in Oncology News International in Oct 1996 , Nov 1996, Dec 1996 , and Jan 1997 . The symposium was sponsored by Zeneca Pharmaceuticals.

In late January, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) released the first evidence report under its new evidence-based practice initiative. The report indicates that screening has been shown to be effective in detecting early-stage

CHICAGO--Although digital whole breast mammography has a number of possible advantages over conventional mammography, including enhanced image contrast and better exposure of dense tissues, it is not yet known whether the technology will be equal to or better than conventional film screen mammography in detecting breast cancer, Stephen A. Feig, MD, said at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting.

PITTSBURGH--Nearly three years after it began its investigation, the federal Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has cleared Dr. Bernard Fisher of any scientific misconduct, stating that he did not include false data in his NSABP reports.

BETHESDA, Md--After considering the politically charged and complex issue of mammography screening for women between ages 40 and 49, the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) created a special working group to craft a recommendation for the National Cancer Institute on what it might advise doctors to tell these women.

NEW YORK--Fatigue is a significant problem experienced by the vast majority of cancer patients--and also the most under-recognized and under-treated symptom, Barbara F. Piper, DNsc, RN, OCN, told Oncology News International in a telephone interview.

The autosomal, dominantly inherited multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes provide some of the best examples of the practical application of advancing technology, not only in the detection and treatment of neoplastic disease but also in the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the initiation and progression of malignancies.

WASHINGTON--President Clinton has asked Congress to approve $2.217 billion in funding for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in fiscal year 1998, which begins next Oct. 1.

Ann Kelsall is a medical writer who reported on the NIH Consensus Development Panel meeting for Oncology News International. Here she considers, from the woman's perspective, the panel's arguments against mammography screening for women ages 40 to 49.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla--"The best way to reduce health care cost is to improve health care quality," said Lee N. Newcomer, MD, MS, in his keynote address at the Second Annual Conference of the National Cancer Center Network (NCCN). And managed care organizations are attempting to do this via measuring and improving the performance of physicians in its networks, he added.

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill--Vysis, Inc. has received FDA clearance to market its CEP X SpectrumOrange/CEP Y SpectrumGreen DNA Probe Kit, an in vitro diagnostic used as an adjunct to standard cytogenetic analysis to identify and enumerate the presence of X and Y chromosomes in bone marrow specimens from patients who have received sex-mismatched bone marrow transplants.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla--Preliminary data on the treatment of breast and colorectal cancer patients at National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) member institutions show that the members are in compliance with the network's guidelines, Jane Weeks, MD, MSc, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said at the second annual NCCN conference.

BETHESDA, Md--A new NCI study will evaluate three techniques to manage atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance that show up on Pap smears, including their cost effectiveness and acceptability to women.

Survey Show Americans Favor Higher Tax WASHINGTON, DC--Americans strongly favor raising the federal excise tax on tobacco, and the majority want Congress to do something to provide health care coverage for the uninsured, according to two polls conducted for the American Cancer Society (ACS).

WASHINGTON--Friends of Cancer Research, a coalition of major cancer organizations, was organized last year to mark the 25th anniversary of the National Cancer Act, signed into law on December 23, 1971.

NEW YORK--A nationwide survey of US cancer patients, oncologists, and caregivers documents that fatigue has profound effects on patients, including their ability to work, meet family needs, and cope with the disease.

Public policy initiatives and increased physician awareness are needed to maintain a healthy balance between the promise of genetic engineering and the potential for genetic discrimination, a Stanford/Veterans Affairs (VA) physician maintains. His

Tumor growth is the result of two opposing processes--cell division and cell loss. As long as division outpaces loss, tumors will continue to grow. The form of "active" cell death called apoptosis is now known to be controlled by specific genes, and it is hoped that manipulating the expression of these genes could shift the balance in favor of cell loss.

In a lively session featured at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Jerome P. Richie, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH, Medical College of Virginia,

The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has increased dramatically since the advent of screening mammography in the 1980s. The age-adjusted DCIS incidence rates increased 17.5% annually from 1983 to 1992.[1] The percentage of patients with DCIS treated with mastectomy has decreased from 71% in 1983 to 44% in 1992. The percentage of patients with DCIS undergoing lumpectomy and radiation in 1992 was 23.3% and lumpectomy only was 30.2%.

In this article, Dr. Rich traces the evolution of chemoradiation in cancer of the rectum from its role as adjuvant therapy to its role in neoadjuvant therapy and its potential as definitive therapy. The efficacy of irradiation and fluorouracil (5-FU)-based

In 1994, the results of a randomized intergroup trial coordinated by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG 86-47-51) indicated that protracted fluorouracil (5-FU) infusion during postoperative adjuvant radiation therapy results in

Quantitative radiation biology was revolutionized in 1956 when Puck and Marcus published the first cell survival curve, relating radiation dose to the fraction of cells surviving.[1] The term "survival" generated a great deal of discussion at that time and led to the definition of such terms as "reproductive death," "reproductive integrity," and "clonogenicity" (among others), all designed to explain that the end point of cell culture experiments is the loss of the cell's ability to divide indefinitely and produce a sizable visible clone.

In patients with an advanced disease or a terminal illness, it may become necessary to institute parenteral opioid therapy either on a temporary basis (for acute breakthrough pain) or permanently. Continuous intravenous or subcutaneous opioid infusions have been the mainstay of parenteral opioid therapy for oncologic pain. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) now offers an alternative modality, and Drs. Bruera and Ripamonti review the current status of this relatively new technique. Is there any evidence to suggest the superiority of one modality over the other for the treatment of oncologic pain?

The Van Nuys Prognostic Index (VNPI) is, in many ways, the best current approach for classifying patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) according to their risk of local recurrence after breast-conserving therapy. However, this index has very important limitations.

Apoptosis is a mode of cell death that is currently of intense research interest in developmental and cancer biology. For more than 40 years, radiobiologists have been aware of cells in irradiated specimens that display the

Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is a relatively new technique in which patients are able to self-administer small doses of opioid analgesics when needed. Many different devices are available for opioid infusion, including

BETHESDA, Md--A federal advisory committee has recommended continuing the use of AZT (zidovudine) in HIV-infected pregnant women to prevent them from passing the virus on to their newborns. The group also urged the US Public Health Service to thoroughly reassess its guidelines for the use of AZT in pregnant women.

ROYAL OAK, Mich-Interstitial implants that deliver radiation therapy to the tumor bed alone after lumpectomy have been well tolerated with no significant acute or late toxicity in the first 50 patients in a Michigan study. In addition, with three years' median follow-up, no patients have recurred locally or distantly.

A major gene essential for controlling the synthesis of hereditary material and cell proliferation is also critically involved in determining the extent of malignant growth of cancer cells, reports a study published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of