N. Simon Tchekmedyian, MD, FACP

During my first medical school clinical rotation 40 years ago, the professor asked: “What’s the most important tool needed to take care of a patient?” His answer: a chair.

The objectives of this study were to assess the safety and efficacy of darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp) administered every 2 weeks in anemic patients with solid tumors receiving chemotherapy. This was an open-label, randomized,

Since our first "Quality of Life in Current Oncology Practice and Research" symposium was held at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California in February 1989, and published in ONCOLOGY in May 1990, there has been a marked increase in the use of quality of life measures to determine the outcomes of interventions in clinical oncology. Measuring the effects of anemia treatment with quality of life tools is a fine example of the importance of these tools to gauge the impact and clinical significance of interventions. It is, therefore, both timely and relevant that we dedicate our fifth symposium to the management of anemia in patients with cancer.

This article examines the relationships between chemotherapy-induced anemia, fatigue, and psychological distress among anemic cancer patients with solid tumors.

Anemia is the most common hematologic abnormality seen in patients with cancer. Anemia is associated with debilitating symptoms and poorer health-related quality of life and may result in less than optimal disease/treatment outcomes.

Among the most exciting new anticancer products presented at the 2001 ASCO meeting were new drugs that block the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). About 30% to 90% of carcinomas express high levels of EGFR. These include, among others, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and bladder cancer.

These reports are written by oncologists from Pacific Shores Medical Group (a large group practice in Long Beach, California). The reports are primarily based on notes taken at the American Society of Clinical Oncology yearly meeting (San Francisco, May 2001). The reports include our impressions (shown in italic type) of the clinical significance of the studies. The information is intended to help you get updated on new developments in oncology. The coverage of the meeting is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather focused on highlights that we consider most interesting or relevant.

This and future reports are written by oncologists from Pacific Shores Medical Group (a large group practice in Long Beach, California). The reports are primarily based on notes taken at the American Society of Clinical Oncology

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

This publication is the fourth in a series of quality of life symposia proceedings. The title of our first symposium, which took place in 1989, was "Quality of Life in Current Oncology Practice and Research." In the foreword to the first proceedings, we