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Over the past several years, the pyrimidine catabolic pathway and, in particular, the first enzymatic step involving dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) have been recognized as being critical in determining the ultimate

The treatment of advanced colorectal cancer has been evaluated in a series of randomized trials, including infusional and modulated 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and three meta-analyses encompassing trials of 5-FU plus

Discussed herein are selected oral fluorinated pyrimidines that are converted to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in vivo to exert antitumor activity. These agents include capecitabine (Xeloda), tegafur-uracil (UFT) plus leucovorin (Orzel), and S-1 (BMS247616). These agents offer the convenience of an orally administered therapy with potentially fewer toxic effects than conventional bolus regimens of 5-FU plus leucovorin. These oral agents provide prolonged 5-FU exposure at lower peak concentrations than observed with bolus intravenous administration of 5-FU and may confer pharmacoeconomic advantages by reducing administration costs and toxicity-related hospitalizations. These regimens also have the potential for improved therapeutic activity by achieving higher 5-FU concentrations in the tumor or by biochemically modulating 5-FU. Phase III trials in patients with advanced colorectal carcinomas are comparing the antitumor activity of these agents with that of intravenous 5-FU plus leucovorin. [ONCOLOGY 12(Suppl 7):48-51, 1998]

The cellular and clinical pharmacology of fluoropyrimidines is characterized by marked interpatient variability in tumor response and patient tolerance. Understanding the metabolic pathways followed by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has

BETHESDA, Md--The National Cancer Institute has begun funding the Cancer Genetics Network to support collaborative investigations into the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility. The Institute will spend $6 million for the first year of operation, much of which will go to planning and establishing the complex infrastructure needed to support the project.

ORLANDO--Using certain strategies in dealing with payers can contribute significantly to building successful relationships and maximizing revenues from bone marrow transplants and peripheral stem cell procedures, said Charles J. Bruno, vice president of business development for the City of Hope Management Services Organization, which manages oncology care for nearly 1 million lives in Southern California.

SAN FRANCISCO--A thorough and accurate family history, going back at least four generations, is one of the most effective tools for establishing genetic cancer risk in a patient, Andrea Fishbach, MS, MPH, of Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, said at the American Cancer Society’s 2nd National Conference on Cancer Genetics. But counselors should be aware that taking such a history can release strong emotions in the patient.

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario, Canada--A new technique is being employed in an attempt to eventually restore the reproductive potential of girls and young women receiving radiotherapy or chemotherapy for cancer. Five families in a study from the United Kingdom have chosen to have ovarian cortical tissue samples removed and frozen prior to cancer therapy.

ROCHESTER, NY--The WHO International Network for Cancer Education (INCE) is putting together a list of exchange programs in cancer education, (eg, exchange of students, residents, or faculty), involving a European or US center and a corresponding center in Asia, Africa, or Latin America.

WASHINGTON--More than 40 groups, with strong representation from women’s and girls’ organizations, have appealed to Congress to aggressively address the "global tobacco epidemic" and particularly its impact on Third World women.

NEW YORK--With good management, brain tumor patients at risk for seizures can control their seizures and regain control of their lives, a UCLA neuro-oncologist reassured brain tumor patients during a Cancer Care, Inc. teleconference.

SAN FRANCISCO--Groundbreak-ing ceremonies were held July 7 for a long-awaited building to house the clinical cancer programs of UCSF (University of California, San Francisco) Stanford Health Care. UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD, delivered the opening remarks.

BALTIMORE--"Genetic testing may soon become another routine tool of medicine," Barbara Biesecker, MS, said at a Johns Hopkins conference on genetic testing for adult onset disorders. Making genetic testing routine will require training more professionals in genetic counseling and overcoming a number of myths that have accumulated around the field, said Ms. Biesecker, co-director of the Genetic Counseling Research and Training Program of the NIH’s Medical Genetics Branch.

Dr. Paul Cinciripini and I wrote an article entitled, "Smoking Cessation: Recent Developments in Behavioral and

Data from a phase I clinical trial of CT-2584, a novel small-molecule, anticancer, antiangiogenesis drug under investigation for the treatment of chemotherapy-resistant (advanced and refractory) cancers were presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of

BOTHELL, Washington--CellPro, Incorporated has received FDA approval for label expansion of the company’s Ceprate SC Stem Cell Concentration System to include the processing of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) to obtain a CD34+ cell enriched population for use as hematopoietic support after myeloablative chemotherapy in patients with CD34-negative tumors.

SAN FRANCISCO--Whether to administer genetic testing to a patient is a complex issue, Patrice Watson, PhD, of Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, said at the American Cancer Society Second National Conference on Cancer Genetics.

WASHINGTON--Americans want cancer cured. Polls show it. Letters to Congress and newspapers say so, and so do calls to talk shows. But will Americans in large numbers turn out here and in cities across the country to demand greater action against the nation’s second leading killer? That’s the question confronting organizers of "The March: Coming Together to Conquer Cancer," the Sept. 26 event, to be held in Washington and more than 75 cities nationwide, that seeks "to make cancer the Number One national health care priority."

If patients with terminal cancer are to participate in making good treatment choices, their physicians must clearly and honestly

BETHESDA, Md--With tobacco legislation stalled on Capitol Hill, Vice President Gore preached the antismoking gospel at a cathedral of the committed--the National Institutes of Health--where he urged Congress to pass a comprehensive tobacco bill and announced that the National Cancer Institute plans to allocate an additional $38 million for research on smoking prevention and cessation programs.

SAN FRANCISCO--Clinical specialist nurses from around the country are working together to create a curriculum that will educate other nurses about biotherapies used to treat certain cancers in combination with chemotherapy. The group met at the Oncology Nursing Society meeting to discuss the project.

WASHINGTON--House Republican leaders delayed introducing the tobacco legislation they promised after the Senate defeated a comprehensive anti-smoking bill in June. This allowed House members the opportunity during Congress’ August recess to hear what their constituents thought about the issues of smoking, raising tobacco taxes, and strengthening the federal government’s role in regulating the tobacco industry.

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario, Canada--There has been little research into the long-term psychosocial effects of surviving childhood cancer. As the numbers of survivors grow, it has become apparent that this population has increased anxiety and concerns, and that a model to understand these effects is needed, Wendy Hobbie, RN, said at the 5th International Conference for Long-Term Complications of Treatment of Children and Adolescents for Cancer, hosted by Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

GENEVA--Researchers at the 12th World AIDs Conference presented a number of papers on the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to reduce viral load in people infected with HIV. Perhaps the most dramatic illustration of the impact of HAART on individual patients was Mark Harrington’s presentation: "N of One Study: My Lymph Node During Asymptomatic, Progressive, and Post-HAART Disease."

ORLANDO--An increasing number of bone marrow transplants (BMTs) are being done on an outpatient basis. According to ELM Services, Inc., an oncology consulting firm, the outpatient cancer market will grow from reimbursements of $85 billion in 1990 to $290 billion in the early part of the next century, dwarfing growth in the inpatient market.

WASHINGTON--A federal judge has ruled that FDA regulations governing the dissemination of research data supporting the off-label uses of approved drugs and medical devices violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.

BRISTOL, UK--A life-size model of a face with the look, feel, and color of real tissue allows medical students to recognize a wide variety of skin lesions--basal cell carcinomas, malignant melanomas, cysts, and warts--and practice a number of procedures, including lesion removal and planning of incisions.

Thiamine, which is usually given in excess to many cancer patients, should be carefully regulated in people undergoing cancer therapy, new research shows.

In a case with potentially national ramifications, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan has agreed to pay for high-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant support for cancer patients who were formerly denied coverage.

BETHESDA, Md--The Food and Drug Administration’s Biological Response Modifiers Advisory Committee voted to recommend approval of Stemgen (amcestim, r-metHuSCF), in combination with Neupogen (filgrastim, G-CSF), for use in mobilizing peripheral blood progenitor cells in cancer patients who undergo autologous stem-cell transplants in conjunction with high-dose chemotherapy. Both drugs are manufactured by Amgen, Inc.