Lung Cancer

HOUSTON-Amifostine (Ethyol) can reduce the risk of acute pneumonitis and severe esophagitis associated with concurrent radiation and chemotherapy administered to patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results of a phase III study were reported by Ritsuko Komaki, MD, professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

PIREAUS, Greece-In advanced-stage lung cancer, radiation therapy provides effective local-regional control but requires irradiation of large tissue volumes and high total tumor doses. "Bolus tumor doses higher than 60 Gy produce better local tumor control but more toxicity," Dosia Antonadou, MD, explained.

According to phase III trial data presented at the recent meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Given the well-established role of angiogenesis (or new blood vessel formation) in tumor growth and metastasis, antiangiogenic therapy, a concept first proposed by Dr. Judah Folkman,[1] has become increasingly recognized as a promising

CHICAGO-Multiple independent laboratories have verified the presence of simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA and proteins in human mesotheliomas, brain tumors, and bone tumors, using a variety of methods of detection. This was the consensus reached by a panel of scientists at an international conference hosted by the University of Chicago.

BETHESDA, Md-Enrollment has begun in a trial of Neovastat (Aeterna Laboratories), also known as AE-941, to test the Canadian-produced shark cartilage extract in patients with unresectable stages IIIA and IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are undergoing induction chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

SAN FRANCISCO-The Mayo Lung Project has been widely interpreted to be negative because it failed to demonstrate a significant reduction in lung cancer mortality among persons randomized to screening chest x-rays. But a rigorous new analysis, with mortality adjusted for cancer incidence, suggests otherwise: that mortality from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is reduced by chest x-ray screening and that public policy recommendations against screening deserve to be reconsidered.

HAYWARD, California-A California jury has awarded $1.5 million to the family of a lung cancer patient for undertreatment of his pain in the last days of his life. The suit was filed against the patient’s physician under the state’s Elder Abuse Act, since the state’s malpractice laws do not allow recompense for pain and suffering after the patient has died. The jury found that the physician’s failure to treat the pain adequately amounted to "reckless" behavior.

SAN FRANCISCO-Weekly doses of recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin alfa [Procrit, Eprex, Erypo]) improved quality of life as well as hemoglobin levels for 154 lung cancer patients in a 16-week, nonrandomized pilot study. Self-assessments from patients at baseline, 8, and 16 weeks showed that their energy rose by 30% above baseline, activity by 30.6%, and overall quality of life by 22%.

SAN FRANCISCO-Used with concurrent radiation therapy after induction chemotherapy, an investigational agent that decreases hemoglobin’s oxygen-binding affinity produced good response rates and favorable projected survival rates in patients with unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

SAN FRANCISCO-Amifostine (Ethyol) reduced acute pneumonitis and severe esophagitis while significantly increasing the complete response rate in patients receiving chemoradiation for inoperable stage II or III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during a randomized phase III study. Hypotension was significantly more frequent among those receiving amifostine, although only one patient discontinued therapy because of a hypotensive episode.

Irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar), either alone or in combination with cisplatin (Platinol), has demonstrated activity in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In single-agent studies, response rates as high as 35%

Combination chemotherapy is the cornerstone of treatment that confers a meaningful survival benefit for patients with small-cell lung cancer. However, because there have been no major therapeutic advances for small-cell lung

During the past decade, five new cytotoxic drugs have beenintroduced that are active against non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

NEW YORK-Researchers outlined some elements of the scaffolding needed to build a rational lung cancer screening policy at the 4th International Conference on Screening for Lung Cancer. Screening for lung cancer has become an important issue with the development of newer screening tools, such as low-dose spiral CT scans, that may permit diagnosis at an early, treatable stage.

With the understanding of the mechanism of malignant transformation has come the knowledge that oncogene products are frequently growth factors, growth factor receptors, or elements of growth factor signal-transduction pathways. Overexpression

NEW YORK-In a phase I/II study combining gemcitabine (Gemzar) and oxaliplatin, French investigators saw a 47% objective response rate among evaluable patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

NASHVILLE, Tennessee-Irinotecan (Camptosar) is a candidate for concurrent chemoradiotherapy to treat non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) because it is synergistic with platinum and is a potent radiation sensitizer, reported Hak Choy, MD, professor of radiation oncology at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. The irinotecan/platinum combination was shown to be active in NSCLC in phase II studies. A number of researchers are now working on refining irinotecan/radiotherapy approaches for NSCLC in phase I and phase II trials, Dr. Choy noted.

NEW YORK-More than 6,000 nuclear fuel workers in three gaseous diffusion plants will be screened for lung cancer using single-slice helical low-dose CT scans in a project funded by the US Department of Energy, said the program’s medical director, Albert Miller, MD, Center for Biology of Natural Systems, Queens College, City University of New York.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee-The failure of current chemotherapy to make much of an impact on lung cancer mortality makes the need for more effective chemotherapy obvious and data on active new agents was presented at the Vanderbilt University Symposium by Alan Sandler, MD.

CLEVELAND-Tinkering with NFkB has little effect on the activity of topoisomerase poisons in non-small cell-lung cancer (NSCLC), but proteasome inhibitors can increase the efficacy of drugs such as irinotecan and etoposide. Information on proteasome inhibitors was presented at the Vanderbilt University Symposium by Ram Ganapathi, MD, staff scientist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Center.

NEW YORK-Leaders of the Early Lung Cancer Action Project (ELCAP) outlined their goals and the screening protocol that has evolved over the past 2 years at the 4th International Conference on Screening for Lung Cancer.

I read with dismay statements made by and attributed to Winfield Boerckel, CSW, a Cancer Care, Inc. information support systems coordinator and a lung cancer support group facilitator, in the March 2001

NEW YORK-Median survival has pushed past 18 months in a trial of concurrent low-dose gemcitabine (Gemzar) and radiation therapy in highly selected patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a report at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVIII.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida-The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2001 guideline for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) now calls for a "multidisciplinary evaluation" of patients with NSCLC as the standard of care.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida-Modifications in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) 2001 guideline for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) include changes in surgical management of SCLC and carcinoid tumors, as well as treatment modifications involving the timing and dose of chest radiotherapy, use of prophylactic cranial irradiation, and additional drugs available for relapsed patients.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with mortality rates in most developed countries ranging from 35 to 95 fatalities per 100,000 in men and 10 to 20 deaths per 100,000 in women.[1] Non-small-cell lung cancer is the most

A wealth of data indicates that certain genetic abnormalities can target specific cytotoxic drugs and intervene at an early step as a mechanism of resistance in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer. Therefore prescribing

Current agents for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer include gemcitabine (Gemzar), paclitaxel (Taxol), docetaxel (Taxotere), vinorelbine (Navelbine), and irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar). Experimental agents include

Gemcitabine (Gemzar), paclitaxel (Taxol), docetaxel (Taxotere), and vinorelbine (Navelbine) are among the most active agents for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer and are generally more active than platinum