ONCOLOGY Vol 14 No 10

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) can help radiologists find early-stage breast cancers that might otherwise be missed, according to findings from a retrospective study presented at the “Era of Hope” Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program meeting.

Surviving cancer is in itself a joyous thing. A new awards program will spotlight that joy and share the stories of 12 survivors who are “everyday heroes,” in an effort to help others who are struggling with the disease.

Three studies presented at the “Era of Hope” Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program meeting described ways in which the body’s own genes and immune system are being used to guide and develop promising new therapeutic approaches.

Two studies presented at the “Era of Hope” Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program meeting exemplify different but equally promising approaches to the development of cancer vaccines.

For 27 years, the Children’s Art Project at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has made life better for children with cancer. Each year, the project offers holiday, everyday, and Valentine collections of note cards and gift items.

The final numbers are not in yet, but there is no doubt that Congress will fund the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at a considerably higher level than the $3.505 billion the Clinton administration asked for. That fiscal 2001 request was already nearly 6% above the actual 2000 budget.

Physicians will have to use the “ANSI ASC X12N” electronic transmission format whenever they do computerized billing.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing clearance for bexarotene (Targretin) gel 1%, a novel therapy for the topical treatment of cutaneous lesions in patients with early-stage (IA and IB) cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who develop refractory or persistent disease after undergoing other therapies or who have not tolerated other therapies.

Many patients misunderstand when their healthcare providers use terms such as “high” or “low” to explain their cancer risks, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the August 2000 issue of the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.

Soft-tissue sarcomas comprise approximately 7% of all pediatric malignancies. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy have significantly improved survival.

The article by Schwartz and colleagues is important and timely, and brings into focus an essential component of the practice of oncology. Posttreatment follow-up is not often emphasized in the training of our residents and fellows, and is often based on

Selective neck dissection is a procedure that is primarily indicated in patients with clinically negative nodal disease in which there is a high risk of occult metastases. Others have advocated its use for patients with

The premise that early diagnosis of certain types of malignancies improves outcome and survival is a cornerstone of modern medicine. Routine use of the Pap smear has been associated with reduced mortality from cervical cancer. Randomized trials

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. The health consequences of smoking impose a substantial economic toll on persons, employers, and society. Smoking accounts for $50 billion to $73 billion in annual medical-care

The management of pediatric soft-tissue sarcomas has improved drastically through the use of multimodal therapy. These tumors include rhabdomyosarcomas and nonrhabdomyosarcomas. Both are staged using

Testicular cancer is a highly curable cancer. However, 30% of patients are refractory to standard therapy and will need additional therapy. This article focuses on the use of high-dose chemotherapy in germ-cell tumors.

Selective neck dissection is a procedure that is primarily indicated in patients with clinically negative nodal disease in which there is a high risk of occult metastases. Others have advocated its use for patients with

Testicular cancer is a highly curable cancer. However, 30% of patients are refractory to standard therapy and will need additional therapy. This article focuses on the use of high-dose chemotherapy in germ-cell tumors.

Testicular cancer is a highly curable cancer. However, 30% of patients are refractory to standard therapy and will need additional therapy. This article focuses on the use of high-dose chemotherapy in germ-cell tumors.

Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to alter the natural history of resected colon cancer. Two regimens (fluorouracil [5-FU] plus leucovorin and 5-FU plus levamisole) have been found to prolong disease-free survival and overall survival in affected patients.

Postoperative combined-modality therapy with fluorouracil (5-FU) and radiation therapy is accepted practice for high-risk rectal cancer. Postoperative pelvic radiotherapy alone may improve pelvic control, but is not associated with an improvement in survival.

This phase I study examines the dose escalation of UFT given in combination with fixed doses of oral leucovorin and weekly doses of paclitaxel in patients with metastatic solid tumor malignancies (excluding colorectal cancer). There are two main objectives for this study.

The combination of irinotecan and fluorouracil (5-FU) is synergistic when applied to human colon cancer cell lines in vitro and appears to be schedule-dependent: maximal activity occurs when irinotecan is administered prior to 5-FU. In this phase I study, irinotecan is administered in combination with UFT and leucovorin in patients with advanced solid tumors.

A prospective randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of maintenance chemotherapy after surgical treatment of head and neck carcinoma was performed at 67 institutions. A comparison was made between the following two groups: the treatment group, which received 1-year oral administration of UFT at 300 mg/d following curative surgical treatment (UFT arm), and the nontreatment group, which received curative surgery alone (control arm).

The palliation of symptoms and improvement of quality of life are important aspects of therapy in patients with incurable metastatic cancer. This article describes the preliminary results of a phase I study of uracil and tegafur, an orally available fluorouracil (5-FU) derivative combined with oral leucovorin plus weekly intravenous paclitaxel.

This is an open-label, nonrandomized phase I study to determine the maximum tolerated dose and dose-limiting toxicity of UFT plus leucovorin when given concomitantly with hyperfractionated radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer. The study period is determined by the course of radiotherapy, which is given as 1.7 Gy per fraction twice daily for 5 days (Monday to Friday) in 2 consecutive weeks, followed by 1 week of rest, and subsequently another 2 weeks of radiotherapy (Monday to Friday plus Monday to Thursday).

Treatment with UFT for spontaneous lung metastasis of murine renal carcinoma (RENCA) after resection of the primary tumor has resulted in significant prolongation of the life span of tumor-bearing animals. UFT inhibited the growth of metastatic nodules in the lung, apparently via decreased density of microvessels in the metastatic foci. Subsequent experiments used dorsal air sac assay to directly trace newly forming microvessels.

In a trial of adjuvant chemotherapy with mitomycin and 5-FU followed by oral UFT for T1 and T2 gastric cancer after curative gastrectomy, there was no significant difference in survival between the treated and control (surgery alone) groups (5-year survival rate, 82.9% control vs 85.8% treated). Although not significantly different, 5-year survival for patients with T2 cancer was slightly higher in the treated group than in the control group (76.9% control vs 83.0% treated).

Taxanes are the most active drugs in the treatment of metastatic breast and ovarian cancer. Weekly therapy with paclitaxel produces notable activity, with remarkably low toxicity.

Cisplatin plus fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely accepted as neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; UFT is also an active agent against this disease. In the first retrospective study, we examined the efficacy of UFT as adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with maxillary cancer.