ASK THE EXPERTS - SURGERY AFTER DOWNSTAGING OF N1/N2
LUNG CANCER? The patient is a 68-year-old man with a technically resectable
lung mass but with multiple hilar lymphadenopathy. http://oncology.medscape.com/25095.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25095.rhtml">Read
it
Here</a> _______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________
NEWS ______________________________
NADER BLASTS GORE'S RECORD ON CHILD ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH The Clinton/Gore administration has not made good on its promises
to protect American children from exposure to harmful toxins in
their environment, Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader said today
at a forum on children's environmental health. http://oncology.medscape.com/24908.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24908.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
LOW-DOSE OCS AS PROTECTIVE AGAINST OVARIAN CANCER AS
OLDER, HIGH-DOSE PILLS Low-dose contraceptives currently on the market are
just as effective as the older, high-dose preparations in protecting women
from ovarian cancer, according to investigators from the University of
Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) in a paper published in
the August 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. http://oncology.medscape.com/25071.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25071.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
ANTICONVULSANT THERAPY REDUCES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ALL
CHEMOTHERAPY Long-term treatment with anticonvulsants increases the systemic
clearance of several antileukemic drugs and can reduce the effectiveness
of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to a report in
the July 22nd issue of The Lancet. http://oncology.medscape.com/24839.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24839.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
UK NONPROFIT WARNS OF DANGER OF BETA-CAROTENE TO
SMOKERS A leading British cancer charity on Friday called for health warnings
on vitamin supplements containing beta-carotene, saying that such
supplements can increase a smoker's risk of developing lung
cancer. http://oncology.medscape.com/24864.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24864.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
'VIRTUAL MICROSCOPE' SHOULD SPEED DIAGNOSIS OF CANCER,
OTHER DISEASES Computer experts are developing a 'virtual microscope' that
should make it easier for physicians to diagnose cancer and other
diseases, by examining digitized data samples instead of traditional
slides. http://oncology.medscape.com/24956.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24956.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
PET BETTER THAN CT AT STAGING LUNG CANCER, DETECTING
METASTASIS Compared with computed tomography, whole-body positron-emission
tomography (PET) provides more accurate staging and detects local and
distant metastases better than in patients with resectable non-small-cell
lung cancer, according to researchers in the Netherlands. http://oncology.medscape.com/25004.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25004.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
MORE OLDER AMERICAN WOMEN UNDERGOING
MAMMOGRAPHY Most American women ages 50 and older report have had a mammogram
in the past 2 years, according to a report released yesterday by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health
Statistics. http://oncology.medscape.com/25006.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25006.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
NEW DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUE FOR STEREOTACTIC BREAST BIOPSY
OFFERS EXCISION BENEFIT Advanced Breast Biopsy Instrumentation (ABBI)
exhibited 100% specificity and sensitivity in a case series of 150
consecutive patients with nonpalpable mammographic lesions. http://oncology.medscape.com/24895.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24895.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
LASER TREATMENT ALLOWS KILLING OF BREAST CANCERS IN
SITU A new laser treatment developed by researchers at
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center kills breast cancer cells in situ
and could someday replace lumpectomy in women with small breast cancers
detected by mammography. http://oncology.medscape.com/25136.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25136.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
MORE EXTENSIVE BIOPSY PROTOCOL IMPROVES PROSTATE CANCER
DETECTION RATE Adding peripheral cores to the six standard sextant needle
biopsies of the prostate significantly improves the cancer detection rate,
French researchers report in the August issue of the Journal of
Urology. http://oncology.medscape.com/25128.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25128.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
COMPUTERIZED TOOL DETECTS EARLY PROSTATE CANCER A
computerized diagnostic index for detecting prostate cancer in patients with
prostate-specific antigen levels ranging from 2.5 to 4.0 will be presented
Thursday at the 52nd annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical
Chemistry, in San Francisco, California. http://oncology.medscape.com/24943.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24943.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
SEVERAL FACTORS PREDICT RISK OF PROGRESSION OF
BARRETT'S ESOPHAGUS TO CANCER Aneuploidy, increased 4N fractions, or
high-grade dysplasia identified by endoscopic biopsy suggest that a patient
with Barrett's esophagus is at high risk of progression to
cancer. http://oncology.medscape.com/25129.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25129.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
TRIPLE REGIMEN PROMISING FOR NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA,
LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA The combination of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and
filgrastim is a highly active, well-tolerated regimen for patients with
low-grade lymphoid malignancies, researchers report in the July 1st issue of
Blood. http://oncology.medscape.com/24881.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24881.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
ENDOSTATIN PLUS CHEMOTHERAPY TREATS NON-HODGKIN'S
LYMPHOMA IN MICE Sequential administration of chemotherapy and the
antiangiogenic drug endostatin prevents tumor growth in a mouse model of
human non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and the regimen may hold promise for treating
NHL in patients, Italian researchers report in the July 1st issue of
Blood. http://oncology.medscape.com/24915.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24915.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
BEXXAR ENTERS PHASE II TRIAL FOR INTERMEDIATE-STAGE
NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA Coulter Pharmaceutical and SmithKline Beecham have
begun an open-label, multicenter phase II trial of Bexxar (tositumomab,
iodine I 131 tositumomab) in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin,
vincristine and prednisone (CHOP) chemotherapy as a first-line treatment
for intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), the companies announced
on Wednesday. http://oncology.medscape.com/25012.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25012.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
GENTA'S GENE DRUG ENHANCES CHEMOTHERAPY FOR BREAST
CANCER Genasense, an investigational drug made by Genta Incorporated, has
shown promise as a chemotherapy enhancer as a treatment or breast cancer
when used in combination with doxorubicin, according to results of a
preclinical study. http://oncology.medscape.com/24963.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24963.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
LOW P27 LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH UNFAVORABLE PROGNOSIS OF
RENAL/PELVIC CANCER Low levels of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor
p27-Kip1 (p27) or a high Ki-67 index are associated with an unfavorable
prognosis in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis
and ureter, Japanese researchers report in the July issue of the British
Journal of Urology International. http://oncology.medscape.com/24976.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/24976.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
ANDROGEN RECEPTOR GENE VARIATION PREDICTS PROSTATE
CANCER RECURRENCE IN LOW-RISK MEN The risk of prostate cancer recurrence
among patients otherwise considered to be at low-risk for recurrence is
increased for those with 18 or fewer CAG repeats in the androgen receptor
gene, Canadian researchers report. http://oncology.medscape.com/25003.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25003.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
GEL DOSIMETRY WILL ALLOW MORE ACCURATE IMAGING,
RADIATION THERAPY Scientists are making progress with gel dosimetry, but they
are not ready to take the technique into the clinical setting, according to
researchers who spoke here Monday during a mini-symposium at the World
Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. http://oncology.medscape.com/25011.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25011.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
CME PROGRAM HELPS MEET EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF BRITISH
MDS An online continuing medical education (CME) program, Melanoma
Education for Primary Care, has received approval from the Post Graduate
Education Authority (PGEA) of the Royal College of General Practitioners in
London to offer 18 hours of approved credit in disease management and
health promotion. http://oncology.medscape.com/25062.rhtml <a
href="http://oncology.medscape.com/25062.rhtml">Read
it Here</a>
