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This column focuses on an area that is critical to all medical oncologists: the pharmacoeconomic analysis. Why should you take note of this?

LUXEMBOURG-In an effort to beat the skyrocketing costs of high-dose chemotherapy and transplantation, physicians at the Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, Calif, have launched a total outpatient therapy program that attempts to eliminate expensive hospital admissions.

BUENOS AIRES-Ultraviolet (UV) radiation contributes to skin cancer induction not only by transforming normal cells to cancer cells but also by impairing the host immune response to skin cancer, said Daniel Yarosh, PhD, president of Applied Genetics, Inc., Freeport, NY.

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.

Most physicians are so poor at communicating medical information to their patients that up to half of all patients leave their

SAN FRANCISCO-Clarithromy-cin (Biaxin), a newer generation macro-lide, has been shown to have a definite favorable effect on survival when given prophylactically to patients with advanced AIDS, Mark Pierce, MD, reported at the 35th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

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).

The Asscoiation of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), at a meetingof the Collaborative Research Group (CRG), announced new study

Patients are often critical of quality -of -life programs because health -care professionals developed them with little

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.

New research that is bringing ribozyme therapy closer to clinical trials was presented at the recent meeting of the American

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.

Eventually, maybe within 2 years, oncology specialists will become the primary-care physicians for patients diagnosed with

Population growth is adding to the threat of massive epidemics, two Stanford scientists told a meeting at the Beijer Institute of

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).

RTOG 91-11, a National Cancer Institute high priority laryngeal preservation protocol, has been streamlined and the accrual

By taking the initiative and addressing concerns about patient care and conservation of health-care resources, nursing staff at

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).

To adress questions relative to the safety of the blood supply ,the National Heart,Lung and Blood Institute, together

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.

MARINA DEL REY, Calif-Representatives of the American Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), an organization of almost 500 cancer institutions, presented the group's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research to Rodger J. Winn, MD, at their annual economics conference.

Patients with advanced cancer or AIDS are frequently bothered by anorexia, decreased food intake, fatigue, weight loss, muscle wasting, and a decline in functional status. Nutritional support may afford these patients a

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.