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Lung Cancer

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BETHESDA, Md--Between 1960 and 1990, there has been a greater than 400% increase in deaths from lung cancer in women. "Women now account for about 45% of all new cases of lung cancer, a proportion that was only about 20% to 25% in the 1970s," said James Jett, MD, co-director of the Lung Cancer Program at the University of Pittsburgh.

In the United States, an estimated 178,000 new cases of lung cancer will occur in 1997, accounting for 13% of cancer diagnoses and 29% of all cancer deaths.[1] The majority of these deaths will be due to metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. Cisplatin (Platinol), vindesine (Eldisine), vinblastine, ifosfamide (Ifex), and mitomycin (Mutamycin) demonstrate response rates of 15% or higher in previously untreated patients (Table 1)

SAN DIEGO--A therapy for advanced lung cancer patients who have not responded to other treatments is showing promise in studies at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. In this phase I trial, 18 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and missing or defective copies of the tumor-suppressor p53 gene have received injections directly into their tumors of an adenovirus containing the p53 wildtype gene.

VANCOUVER, Wa--Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, yet there are no colored ribbons for survivors and supporters, no races for a cure, and until now, no day, week, or month dedicated to lung cancer awareness.

BOCA RATON, Fla--Docetaxel (Taxotere) is showing promising single-agent activity in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), said James Rigas, MD, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Dart-mouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, NH).

NEW YORK--Cancer Care, Inc. is offering a new booket, Learning About Lung Cancer: It Helps to Understand, that attempts to close the "information gap" with regard to how lung cancer is diagnosed and treated, as well as provide help and tips on how to cope with medical and nonmedical issues faced by lung cancer patients.

VIENNA--Although the majority of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are too ill to tolerate platinum therapy, the more benign safety profile of gemcitabine (Gemzar) is opening up the possibility of palliative chemotherapy for a wider group of NSCLC patients.