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Researchers report that depleting bone marrow of contaminating malignant cells with anticancer drugs prior to transplantation (purging) may increase long-term survival in certain leukemia patients. This was the conclusion of a comparative study of purged vs nonpurged marrow in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

ORLANDO--More physicians are electing to form specialty networks to contract with health care payers, and professional marketing of these alliances to health plans is critical to their economic survival, said Howard Fagin, PhD, of Physician's Health Corporation, an Atlanta-based company that helps physicians organize single and multispecialty networks.

NEW YORK--A recent Gallup opinion poll shows that Americans are split on the issue of legalizing physician-assisted suicide, but strongly favor hospice care. In the survey of 1,007 respondents, age 18 and over, 70% said they would seek hospice care for themselves if they were terminally ill. Half of the respondents said they favored legalizing physician-assisted suicide, but only 35% said they would choose it for themselves if they became terminally ill.

A cancer vaccine developed by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers is showing promise in mice for treating brain tumors that had been thought "off limits" for the immune system.

BETHESDA, Md-With the aim of increasing oral cancer survival rates, the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) and the National Cancer Institute will jointly fund four research centers to investigate the causes of oral cancers and to develop improved treatments.

A provocative array of observations from both laboratory and clinical investigations indicates that alterations in folate status modulate the process of neoplastic transformation in selected epithelial tissues. Diminished folate

BUFFALO, NY--While most long-term survivors of childhood cancer suffer few psychological scars, up to 30% of fathers and 40% of mothers may exhibit moderate to severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS)--a disorder commonly associated with war veterans and victims of violent crime.

SAN ANTONIO--A number of Hispanic notables, including Olympic gold medalist Pablo Morales and actors Maria Conchita Alonso and Jesse Borrego, have recorded public service announcements aimed at Hispanics encouraging cancer screening, good nutrition, exercise, not smoking, and sun protection.

ORLANDO-Community oncologists have a number of options in attempting to maximize their position in the managed care environment, said Myron H. Goldsmith, MD, executive director of development for the City of Hope Oncology Network, Los Angeles.

Sphincter-preserving operations represent an important model for integrating the goals of surgery for rectal cancers. These goals--the achievement of cure and local control and the preservation of autonomic visceral

The premise of Steen's book is that nearly everyone is confused about cancer prevention. The public, for whom the book is written, is the most confused, but cannot be faulted. According to Steen, the responsibility for their confusion lies with scientists and the press. Scientists make mistakes by reporting preliminary data from inadequate and mostly "workmanlike, undistinguished" (page 3) studies. The press, in turn, repeats these mistakes, adds some of its own, and so oversimplifies a complex topic that the public, in the end, receives "unconnected facts, partial truths, and outright lies" (page 3).

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Roxane Laboratories has announced that Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will implement the Roxane HIV-Pain Scholars program to train physicians, nurses, and pharmacists to treat and manage HIV-related peripheral nerve pain.

TAMPA, Fla--The average brain tumor patient survives just 1 year after diagnosis, so long-term survival, defined as living at least 100% longer than the median survival of historical controls, is especially remarkable. Previous studies have shown that only 7% to 10% of brain cancer patients survive long-term.

VANCOUVER, BC--AIDS test results are not always what they seem, and current vaccine research may be headed in the wrong direction, Luc Montagnier, MD, said at the 11th International Conference on AIDS. Dr. Montagnier, of the Institut Pasteur, is a co-discoverer of HIV-1, the AIDS virus.

VANCOUVER, BC--Use of subcutaneous interleukin-2 (IL-2) to support CD8+ cell maturation in HIV- infected patients appears to be feasible, researchers reported at the 11th International Conference on AIDS.

BETHESDA, Md--Planning for science is "oxymoronic," because you can't plan for results, NCI Director Richard Klausner told the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB). "Instead, you have to plan for facilitating large-scale thinking," he said.

CHICAGO--Donor lymphocyte infusion is proving to be a potent treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients who relapse after allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT). It also may improve the overall outcome of CML patients after transplantation, said William Drobyski, MD, at the sixth annual Malnati Symposium in the Clinical Sciences, sponsored by Northwestern University School of Medicine.

VANCOUVER, BC--CD8+ T cells appear to play a central role in the body's strategy for fighting HIV, particularly in those patients known as long-term non-progressors or long-term survivors who remain well for many years despite being infected with HIV.

BUFFALO, NY--A cognitive remediation program that stresses skills acquisition rather than reiterative practice may improve attention and concentration deficits in cognitively impaired survivors of childhood cancer, Robert W. Butler, PhD, reported at the Fourth International Conference on Long-Term Complications of Treatment of Children and Adolescents for Cancer.

NEW YORK--AIDS patients are vastly undermedicated for their pain, a new study from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has shown.

NEW YORK--A new resource guide from Cancer Care Inc. details the kinds of information and services that are available around the country for people with cancer.

NEW YORK--Michael Korda, best-selling author and editor-in-chief and vice president of Simon and Schuster, had never heard of PSA until a routine test showed that his was elevated; he had never thought about prostate cancer as something that could happen to him. After all, he was asymptomatic, a "fanatic exerciser," had given up smoking 20 years ago, and ate carefully.

BETHESDA, Md--The increasing commercial interest in developing tests for genetic disorders makes it imperative to come up with guidelines for use of such tests as quickly as possible, Neil Holtzman, MD, MPH, head of the genetic task force assembled by the NIH and DOE, told the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB).

VANCOUVER, BC--The discovery in 1994 of a new human herpesvirus associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) brought some order to the previously contentious discussion about causes of the disease in patients with HIV. Researchers at the 11th International Conference on AIDS further nailed human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8, also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus or KSHV) as the culprit in many, if not most, cases of KS (see also, page 1).

NEW YORK--The Leukemia Society of America has launched First Connection, a pilot program for helping newly diagnosed leukemia patients and their families receive counseling and information in the initial hours after diagnosis. Patients will be visited by a specially trained peer volunteer who has gone through a similar experience.

WASHINGTON--President Clinton has announced new restrictions on tobacco advertising and sales intended to cut teenage smoking in half over the next 7 years.

Reducing the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults to no more than 15% is one of the national health objectives for the year 2000 (objective 3.4). To assess progress toward meeting this objective, the CDC analyzed self-reported information about cigarette smoking among US adults contained in the Year 2000 Objectives Supplement of the 1994 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS-2000). This report summarizes the findings of this analysis, which indicate that, in 1994, 25.5% (48.0 million) of adults were current smokers and that the overall prevalence of current smoking and estimates for sociodemographic subgroups were unchanged from 1993 to 1994.

Scientists searching for molecular clues to cancer have produced a detailed picture showing how a key protein blocks a central promoter of cell growth involved in virtually all human cancers. The discovery sets the stage for developing drugs to mimic the protein, called p27, with the hope of halting the uncontrolled cell division that ultimately leads to the formation of tumors.

Young tobacco farmers, feeling the heat from tobacco imports, increased regulation, and public health concerns, are interested in diversifying their crops, according to a recently completed survey sponsored by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

VANCOUVER, BC--How much insulin do you give a patient with diabetes--as much as is required to control blood sugar. "The same is true for opioids and patients with cancer pain, "Richard B. Patt, MD, said at a symposium held in conjunction with the 8th World Congress on Pain. "The only difference is we don't have a blood test to measure a patient's opioid requirement the way we do with insulin."