Rituximab/CHOP Induction Therapy in Newly Diagnosed Patients With Mantle Cell Lymphoma
March 1st 2000Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a recently identified, aggressive, B-cell neoplasm that is incurable with current combination chemotherapy regimens. Novel therapeutic strategies are needed. MCLs express high levels of cell-surface CD20 and are
State of the Union on Youth Smoking ‘Clearly Not Good’
March 1st 2000WASHINGTON-The most comprehensive survey of tobacco use among young people has found that 12.8% of middle school students and 34.8% of those in high school reported using some form of tobacco product in the month prior to answering a questionnaire. Cigarettes were favored by most of the students, with cigars second.
In Vivo Purging With Rituximab During Stem Cell Transplantation for Indolent Lymphoma
March 1st 2000Autologous peripheral blood stem-cell (PBSC) transplantation may play an important role in the treatment of indolent lymphomas, as well as aggressive lymphomas. Concern about the contamination of the autologous graft with lymphoma
ASCO Launches Large-Scale Study on Quality of Cancer Care
March 1st 2000ALEXANDRIA, Virginia-The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has launched the first study aimed at developing a national monitoring system for cancer care in the United States. A panel of ASCO physicians and other health experts will oversee the study, which will be conducted by researchers at Harvard University and the RAND Corporation, the organization said in a news release.
Poor Literacy, Low Income May Deter Cancer Screening
March 1st 2000CHICAGO-Poor reading ability and low income affect many aspects of health care, including cancer screening. Preliminary analysis of data from a study of new enrollees in a Medicare managed care program showed that women with low or inadequate functional literacy were less likely than literate patients to have a Pap smear, and those with yearly incomes below $20,000 were less likely to have mammography.
Pediatric Cancer Patients May Not Receive Adequate Pain Relief
March 1st 2000BOSTON-In a survey of 103 parents of children who had died of cancer, 89% said their children suffered “a lot” or “a great deal” from at least one symptom of the cancer or its treatment during their last month of life. The symptoms mentioned most often were pain, fatigue, and dyspnea. “Our results suggest that greater attention to symptom control and the overall well-being of children with advanced disease might ease their suffering,” the researchers, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital, Boston, said in their report (N Engl J Med 342:326-333, 2000).
More Convenient Dosing for Erythropoietin in Cancer Fatigue Patients
March 1st 2000A less frequent dosing schedule of recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin alfa, Epogen, Procrit) may offer effective and more convenient treatment for the fatigue and malaise associated with cancer therapies, said George D.
JCO Goes to Twice-Monthly Schedule
March 1st 2000ALEXANDRIA, Va-The Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) has doubled the number of issues it publishes each year, but not the number of articles it will accept. The JCO, a publication of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), now publishes two issues monthly, one mailed in the middle and the other at the end of the month.
FDA Seeks Injunction Against ‘Anticancer’ Drug Maker
March 1st 2000ROCKVILLE, Md-The FDA has accused Lane Labs-USA, Inc., of Allendale, NJ, with illegally promoting three products as treatments for cancer and other diseases, and is seeking a permanent federal court injunction against the marketing of the products: BeneFin, produced from shark cartilage; SkinAnswer, a glycoalkaloid skin cream; and MGN-3, a rice-bran extract.
Funds Sought for Studies of Environment-Cancer Links
March 1st 2000WASHINGTON-The Clinton Administration wants to sharply increase funding for studies to determine environmental causes of cancer, particularly of the breast and prostate. The President is asking Congress to provide $27 million in fiscal year 2001 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Environmental Health Lab, an increase of 56% over the current budget.
Pilot Study of Rituximab in Refractory or Relapsed Hairy Cell Leukemia
March 1st 2000Treatment of recurrent or nucleoside analog–refractory hairy cell leukemia (HCL) may be limited by poor tolerance (eg, interferon), profound CD4 lymphopenia, or comorbid conditions in which prolonged myelosuppression from nucleoside analog
NCI Awards Cancer Trials Support Unit Contract to Westat Corp.
March 1st 2000ROCKVILLE, Md-The NCI has awarded the contract to develop and implement the Cancer Trials Support Unit (CTSU) to Westat Corporation (Rockville, Md), a health and social sciences research organization. Westat will work with the Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups and Oracle Corporation’s Health Informatics Consulting Practice.
Women’s Art Center Plans Artist-in-Residence Institute
March 1st 2000The program currently sends artists to work in cancer units at New York Hospital (oncology, bone marrow transplant, and pediatric oncology units), Lenox Hill Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital, Roosevelt-St. Luke’s Hospital, and Columbia
Oncology Nurses Are Playing Key Roles in Clinical Trials
March 1st 2000With ever more new therapeutic agents in development, more practitioners are needed to shepherd patients through clinical trials-coordinating the trials, developing standardized treatment orders, managing symptoms, providing patient