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MINNEAPOLIS--Breast imaging with FDG PET can identify breast cancer with a high specificity, a German study has shown. This technique visualizes malignant tumor tissue by increased FDG (fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose) uptake (see image on " FDG PET Imaging Visualizes Malignant Breast Lesions"), said Norbert Avril, MD, of the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Technical University, Munich.

The signs and symptoms of brachial plexopathy are commonly seen in patients with cancer and pose a formidable management challenge. Tumor infiltration and radiation injury to the brachial plexus are the most common causes, and the distinction between the two has obvious prognostic and therapeutic implications. Dr. Kori reviews the clinical features and treatment options for each of these clinical entities and attempts to define the criteria that differentiate them.

Brachial plexus dysfunction is a well-known complication of cancer. Metastatic brachial plexopathy (MBP) and radiation injury to the brachial plexus (RBP) are the most common causes. The distinction between MBP and

WASHINGTON--The House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health heard opinions on what sort of final regulations should be issued concerning the recently expanded self-referral laws: namely, enforce the bill as written (HCFA's view) or add major exceptions to the bill (the AMA's view).

S5755, an amendment (no. 603) introduced by Sen. McConnell (R-KY), to reform the health-care liability system and improve health-care quality through establishment of quality assurance programs, was agreed to by voice vote.

ASCO LOS ANGELES--In a multicenter phase II study of mitogua-zone (MGBG) in relapsed or refractory AIDS-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), more than one quarter of patients responded to the drug, and all of the complete responders experienced an increase in their CD4 counts, Alexandra M. Levine, MD, reported at ASCO.

Increasing numbers of Americans are using smokeless tobacco, because they think it is a safe alternative to cigarettes. Upcoming federal guidelines on smoking prevention and cessation should include information about the health risks

BETHESDA, Md--Acting NCI Director Edward Sondik announced that the institute is committed to increasing participation of minorities in clinical trials. However, cancer researchers have had only limited success in this effort, he said.

adiation therapy before surgery increases survival without increasing long-term complications for patients with rectal cancer, according to a 10-year study at Tufts University presented at the recent meeting of the American Radium Society. Resection

SAN DIEGO, Calif--Investigators have demonstrated that umbilical cord blood contains cells capable of instituting long-term, donor-derived hematopoiesis--with a very low probability of producing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), John E. Wagner, MD, said at a conference sponsored by the University of California, San Diego Cancer Center and the UCSD School of Medicine.

New statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show Utah and Nevada (so close in proximity, so distant in life-style) at the top and bottom, respectively, of a ranking of states by smoking-related mortality (see table). The

WASHINGTON--Medicare and Medicaid are hard pressed to stay ahead of profiteers bent on cheating the system administered by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA).

HOUSTON--Spanish-speaking oncologists from around the world stopped off in Houston on their way home from the ASCO meeting to learn more about state-of-the-art cancer care--in their own language.

BETHESDA, Md--The National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) will seriously consider the suggestion of one of its members to send a strong message to Congress regarding cancer research.

LONG BEACH, Calif-Cost utility studies are in their infancy and can yield very different results if incorrect assumptions about utility scores are made. For example, two different analyses of the same cost utility data suggested that the cost of a 5-HT3 antagonist in patients receiving emetic chemotherapy is either $4,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY), or 10 times that much.

TORONTO, Canada--Available cancer drugs have had little specificity, destroying both cancer cells and normal cells. Now, says Robert Kerbel, PhD, of Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, University of Toronto, "we have the potential to design 'smarter' drugs to help circumvent the problems of toxicity and resistance." At a media conference at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, Dr. Kerbel introduced two researchers who have pioneered development of approaches to inhibit cancer development without harming normal cells.

Radioimmunotherapy with an iodine 131-labeled monoclonal antibody shows promise in two applications in patients with myeloid leukemias: as cytoreductive therapy prior to bone marrow transplantation and for reduction of minimal residual

In a preliminary analysis of a study of more than 800 patients with early-stage cancer, researchers found that those who gave a negative self-appraisal of their situation and their ability to cope were more likely to develop affective disorders during the

HACKENSACK, NJ-- Tough economic times can be blamed for the current game of roulette played by health-care insurers when it comes to coverage of experimental or off-label treatments, said Grace Powers Monaco, JD, director of the Medical Care Ombudsman Program, Medical Care Management Corp. Bethesda, Md. But overeager physicians, patients, and patient advocacy groups must also share some of the blame for the current tug of war, she said.

Scientists have developed a technique for evaluating the potency of an AIDS patient's T4 lymphocytes. Preliminary findings indicate the new test may provide HIV-positive patients with a more accurate prognosis than current

LONG BEACH, Calif--Using five key indicators of the severity of illness to determine the cost effectiveness of growth factor use, researchers from Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania found an average cost ratio of about 1:7 for the use of G-CSF (filgrastim, Neupogen) in stage IV breast cancer patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy/autologous bone marrow transplantation.

NEW YORK--How much scientific research is enough? In the best of all possible worlds, an appropriate response might be, "one can never have too much of a good thing." But in the real world, the question must be rephrased: "How much research is possible with the resources available?"

LONG BEACH, Calif--Neoplasms account for more than 5% of the $675 billion in direct annual US health-care expenditures, Thomas C. Tucker, MPH, said at the 1995 Quality of Life Symposium, sponsored by St. Mary Medical Hospital. This figure, derived from a 1990 National Center for Health Statistics Survey, does not include indirect costs, such as loss of wages, associated with morbidity and mortality.

BETHESDA, Md--An Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health has been chartered to advise the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health. The committee is mandated to offer advice on how to enhance women's health research, ensure that women are included in NIH-supported studies, and improve opportunities for women in biomedical careers.

LONG BEACH, Calif--Of the different types of economic analyses used in cost studies of medical therapies, only the cost utility analysis takes into account quality of life as an outcome, Jane Weeks, MD, said at the 1995 Quality of Life Symposium, sponsored by St. Mary Medical Center. To understand how this type of analysis works, physicians must add two new measurement units to their vocabulary: "utilities" and "quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)," she said.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass--In a phase II study, Genetics Institute's recombinant human interleukin-11 (rhIL-11) restored platelets in throm-bocytopenic patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy to the extent that significantly fewer rhIL-11 treated patients required platelet transfusions, compared to placebo.

SAN FRANCISCO--For physicians who treat cervical lesions, abandonment of traditional colposcopy for one-step loop excision procedures could lead to excessive treatment and excessive expense, Philip Roland, MD, said at the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists meeting.

Surviving Childhood Cancer, A Guide for Families" meets a tremendous need for easy-to-read, simple-to-understand information about the childhood cancer experience. All too often health-care professionals myopically focus attention and

BETHESDA, Md--In an anxiously awaited report, the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) Ad Hoc Working Group on the NCI Intramural Research Program (IRP) made dozens of recommendations for change in the way intramural research is administered and conducted at the Institute (see below).

ROCKVILLE, Md--The Food and Drug Administration has announced that the National Cancer Information Center toll-free hotline, 1-800-4-CANCER, will now provide the names of all US radiology centers that are equipped to perform high-quality mammography.