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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC-The National Toxicology Program (NTP) will probe questions about the safety of cellular telephones in a 5-year series of rodent studies. The agency said that the study is in response to the requests from citizens who claim cell phones have caused a variety of health problems. Most studies done to date have failed to show that cell phones cause any ill effects, but many of these studies were funded by the cell-phone industry.

LOS ANGELES-Diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor 8 years ago, Mario del Valle chose not to be physically defeated. His artist mother, Pilar del Valle, helped inspire him to learn to use his left hand. Mr. del Valle, born in Colombia and now living in Northridge, California, overcame vision and other obstacles to produce watercolors such as the two shown above. Mr. del Valle is a participant in the UCLA Neuro-Oncology Program’s Art of the Brain, which encourages brain cancer patients and their caregivers to use creativity to regain self-worth and personal power. Timothy Cloughsey, MD, is director of the UCLA Neuro-Oncology Program

WAUKESHA, Wisconsin-GE Medical Systems, a unit of General Electric Company, has introduced the GE Discovery LS. The digital system combines anatomical imaging from the company’s fast CT scanner, the GE LightSpeed Plus, with functional imaging of metabolic activity from its most advanced positron emission tomography (PET) system, the GE Advance NXi.

SAN DIEGO, California-Screenings and a healthy life style are critical parts of cancer prevention, and, to that end, some nurse practitioners at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Prevention and Wellness Program have been given a novel assignment: They are wellness specialists.

ROCKVILLE, Md-The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expanding the role of patient advocates in the approval process of cancer drugs. For some years, patient representatives have participated in meetings of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC). FDA’s new corps of patient consultants will initially participate in discussions of the design of phase III clinical trial protocols, as well as ODAC proceedings.

SAN FRANCISCO-Glass microspheres embedded with yttrium-90 (TheraSphere) infused into the liver appears to be a promising treatment strategy for mixed hepatic cancers, with possible application in other cancers, according to a poster presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO abstract 1038).

COLUMBUS, Ohio-Mitomycin (Mutamycin) can make some solid tumors flare high levels of topoisomerase-I and set them up for destruction by topoisomerase-I inhibitors such as irinotecan (Camptosar), according to Miguel A. Villalona, MD. Dr. Villalona is assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, Ohio.

WASHINGTON-Tobacco control groups and organized labor have joined forces to try to reduce smoking among the nation’s union workers and the exposure of their families to second-hand smoke. The American Legacy Foundation, an educational organization created as part of the $246 billion tobacco settlement, is underwriting the Consortium on Organized Labor and Tobacco Control (COLT) with a $1.6 million grant.

SAN DIEGO, California-Clinical trials over the last decade have led to the development of pathways in which certain febrile neutropenic cancer patients are managed as outpatients. At M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, advanced practice nurses (APNs) take an active, complex role in the management of these patients. Their role was summarized in a poster presentation at the Oncology Nursing Society’s 26th Annual Congress (abstract 227).

SEATTLE, Washington-Compound ultrasound imaging improves the evaluation of solid breast nodules and the retroareolar region of the breast, according to two studies from University Health Network, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. The studies were reported at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society.

Brain metastases are a common complication of systemic cancer and a significant cause of morbidity. For patients whose brain metastases remain untreated, the prognosis is poor. The advent of contrast-enhanced magnetic

Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer are more than 65 years of age. Therefore, a discussion of the issues surrounding the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of prostate cancer in older men is, in many ways, a review of

Brain metastases are a common complication of systemic cancer and a significant cause of morbidity. For patients whose brain metastases remain untreated, the prognosis is poor. The advent of contrast-enhanced magnetic

In part I of this series, we identified currently active clinical trials that include health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) outcomes as a primary or secondary objective of the overall study (Trimble EL et al: ONCOLOGY 15:601-611, 2001). The goal of this

Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer are more than 65 years of age. Therefore, a discussion of the issues surrounding the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of prostate cancer in older men is, in many ways, a review of

NEW ORLEANS-"Knots" in DNA may become potential targets of cancer therapeutics, according to an investigator who described these new structures at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR abstract 1123).

ST. LOUIS-Three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy is being widely used for treatment of prostate cancer and has been successful at reducing rectal toxicities. "Conformal radiotherapy has allowed dose escalation with acceptable or even reduced rates of severe morbidity," Jeff M. Michalski, MD, reported. He added, however, that "we have to start paying attention to the low-grade morbidity. Grade 1 and grade 2 toxicity may predict development of severe late complications." Dr. Michalski is assistant professor of radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS-Soon to be launched is a trial to determine if amifostine (Ethyol) with concurrent infusion of 5-fluorouracil will permit delivery of higher boost doses of radiation in unresectable or locally recurrent rectal cancer.

ST. CROIX-The discovery that radioprotectants can be used in some settings to protect normal tissues from radiation damage promises to greatly extend the usefulness of regimens that combine systemic chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The First Investigators’ Congress on Radioprotection, held June 7 to 10, 2001 served as a forum to review current progress and discuss new developments in strategies for radioprotection.

ROCHESTER, New York-Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin 1-alpha (IL-1a) are potentially useful predictors of risk for development of postradiation pneumonitis, according to Yuhchyau Chen, MD, PhD. "Delayed peak of pneumonitis occurs at 6 to 9 months, and we expect that there will be a role for radioprotective agents in this setting," she said. Dr. Chen is assistant professor of radiation oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, New York.

DURHAM, North Carolina-"We have a positive randomized trial of amifostine (Ethyol), and it represents the first time that a treatment has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that interacts with radiation therapy," David M. Brizel, MD, said.

DETROIT-Intrarectal topical application of amifostine (Ethyol), given as a "mini-enema," is extremely tolerable, produces no systemic toxicity, and may be an alternative to systemic administration for preventing rectal damage in patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Results of a phase I study were reported by Edgar Ben-Josef, MD. He is associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Wayne State University’s Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

PHILADELPHIA-In designing trials of potential toxicity modifiers, consideration must be given to endpoint selection and correlation of endpoints, as well as sample size and analysis methods. Important design factors were reviewed by Charles B. Scott, PhD, associate director of quality of life research at the American College of Radiology in Philadelphia.

CHICAGO-Amifostine (Ethyol) has a number of effects on transcription factors and may also mimic antitumor gene therapy by upregulating expression of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), according to David J. Grdina, MBA, PhD, professor of radiation and cellular oncology at the University of Chicago.

TAMPA, Florida-Standards for reporting toxicity related to radiotherapy are at least 5 years behind those developed for chemotherapy and need to be improved before the field can advance, according to Andy Trotti, MD. "There is a need for a common late effects grading system and a need for reporting standards," Dr. Trotti said. He is program leader and director of clinical trials, Radiation Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida.

SAN DIEGO-In his keynote address-"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Chemotherapy"-Daniel Shapiro, PhD, used his gift for stand-up comedy to relay an important message: Everyday, in ways they don’t even realize, oncology nurses make a huge difference in patients’ lives.

SEATTLE-Unrelieved cancer pain is a serious problem for over a million Americans with cancer. Many studies report factors that alleviate pain, but few report factors that aggravate it.

MAYWOOD, Illinois-A multidisciplinary initiative at Loyola University Medical Center has made significant strides toward achieving a standardized approach to pain management.

WASHINGTON-US cancer and AIDS mortality declined again in 1999, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The preliminary age-adjusted death rate fell 0.9% for cancer and 3.6% for HIV disease.

WASHINGTON-The Bush Administration has begun a reorganization of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) by changing its name and creating three new centers to administer its activities. The agency is now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The three new centers, according to CMS, "reflect the agency’s major lines of business."