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ROCKVILLE, Maryland-New screening systems expected to further lower the threat of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) contamination in the nation’s blood supply have received FDA approval. The agency has licensed two nucleic acid test (NAT) systems, which can significantly reduce the infection window, ie, the time in which a blood donor can be infected but the infection may not be detected. For HIV, the window with NAT is 12 days, compared with 22 days for antibody tests and 16 days for antigen tests. For HCV, the window is reduced from 82 days to 25 days.

NEW YORK-Members of eight major oncologic organizations are working together to produce a set of uniform guidelines for the prevention and control of nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

SAN DIEGO--The Cancer Center at Carle Clinic, Urbana, Illinois, has developed a phone assessment program to reach out to prostate brachytherapy patients before their 1-month follow-up visit, Mary Collins, RN, MSN, OCN, clinical nurse specialist at the Cancer Center, said at the 26th Annual Conference of the Oncology Nursing Society (abstract 73).

SAN DIEGO--A new study may help nursing professionals become more aware of the presence of symptom clusters in cancer patients and their possible synergistic adverse effect on patients’ future morbidity.

HEIDELBERG-A "proof of concept" study from researchers at the German Cancer Research Center shows that tumor-reactive memory T cells already present in the bone marrow of many cancer patients can be mobilized, restimulated, and deployed against the individual’s own breast, ovarian, or cervical tumor.

BETHESDA, Maryland-The first large, multicenter study to compare digital vs standard film mammography has begun enrolling patients. The Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) will study 49,500 women at 18 centers in the United States and one center in Canada.

A study that evaluated 76 patients, aged 48 to 62 years, who underwent prostate brachytherapy between 1995 and 1999 using either palladium-103 or iodine-125 seed implants, reported that more than 98% achieved 5-year survival.

Interdisciplinary Research to Be Focus of Case Institute

SAN FRANCISCO-While bone mineral density decreases with ovarian ablation via the leutinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) analog goserelin (Zoladex), the loss is partly recovered within a year after 2 years of treatment. Also, the loss may be minimized by the addition of tamoxifen (Nolvadex), according to an analysis of ZIPP (Zoladex in Premenopausal Patients) trial data presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO abstract 96).

SAN FRANCISCO-Adding vitamin B12 and folic acid to chemotherapy with pemetrexed disodium (Alimta) reduces the incidence of severe life-threatening toxicities, according to research presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO abstract 300).

SEATTLE-Radiology practices that are converting to digital systems should be alert to the possibility of overuse syndromes, based on the experience of the radiology department at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu. Lynne Ruess, MD, chief of pediatric radiology at Tripler, reported her department’s experience at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society (abstract 175).

Neuropathic pain may be defined as pain related to abnormal somatosensory processing in either the peripheral or central nervous system. This pathophysiologic label is typically applied when the painful symptom is associated

Clinical trials of agents to prevent cancer in populations at risk are relatively recent. To date, these consist of a few large population-based studies. Trials in this area focus on the prevention of cancer in individuals with specific predetermined risk

Neuropathic pain may be defined as pain related to abnormal somatosensory processing in either the peripheral or central nervous system. This pathophysiologic label is typically applied when the painful symptom is associated

Pressure ulcers are a common problem, with about 1.5 to 3 million individuals in the United Stated affected. Treatment may be costly, requiring lengthy periods of hospitalization. Central to the development of pressure

In this article (the first of a two-part interview), Benjamin Djulbegovic, MD, PhD, discusses the uncertainty principle in clinical trials, a subject he has written about in The Lancet and elsewhere. Dr. Djulbegovic is associate professor of medicine, Divisions of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of South Florida, Tampa.

Anemia is a frequent complication of cancer and its associated treatment. Although its occurrence is well documented in the chemotherapy setting, the prevalence and nature of anemia in the radiation oncology setting

Anemia is a frequent complication of cancer and its associated treatment. Although its occurrence is well documented in the chemotherapy setting, the prevalence and nature of anemia in the radiation oncology setting

Anemia is a frequent complication of cancer and its associated treatment. Although its occurrence is well documented in the chemotherapy setting, the prevalence and nature of anemia in the radiation oncology setting

SAN FRANCISCO-Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with the investigational radiolabeled monoclonal antibody known as Bexxar (tositumomab and iodine I-131 tositumomab) is effective and well tolerated in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients with poor prognostic features, according to retrospective analyses presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

BETHESDA, Maryland-The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has unanimously recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve the marketing of Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan, IDEC Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of patients with rituximab (Rituxan)-refractory follicular, B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

ROCKVILLE, Maryland-The emerging science of protein analysis called proteomics is being applied directly to the care of cancer patients in a joint research and clinical program of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Proteomics is the study of the body’s proteins and how they function and interact.

In this time-honored series, the editors have assembled a panel of internationally recognized experts and accomplished a "tour de force" in presenting an overview of the past year’s most salient discoveries in cancer research. They have chosen

As if the prospective Medicare cuts in payments for outpatient chemotherapy drugs were not troubling enough, there is another dark Medicare cloud. The American Medical Association (AMA) is predicting that Medicare may also cut physician

NEW YORK-More than 500 cancer patients across the country participated in a Cancer Care, Inc. teleconference addressing a little-discussed concern literally on the mind of many chemotherapy patients: forgetfulness during and after chemotherapy.

NEW YORK-The persistence of fatigue for up to a year after cancer treatment is a common and debilitating occurrence. Participants in a Cancer Care, Inc. teleconference were given information on the causes of cancer-related fatigue and strategies for coping with it.

BETHESDA, Maryland-Richard D. Klausner, MD, has resigned as director of the National Cancer Institute to become president of a new scientific organization, the Case Institute for Health, Science and Technology. In a letter to President George W. Bush, Dr. Klausner called his 6-year tenure "the most challenging and rewarding of my career. The NCI is a jewel that I have had the honor to lead."

TORONTO, Canada-The combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) has proved particularly advantageous in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer of the head and neck, Carolyn Cidis Meltzer, MD, said at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (abstract 133).

NEW ORLEANS-Diffusion-weighted MRI reveals rapid changes in tumor water diffusion values after successful therapeutic intervention in solid tumors. It therefore appears capable of predicting treatment response within days of initiating therapy, Brian D. Ross, PhD, of the University of Michigan, said at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

SAN FRANCISCO-Aberrant responses to growth signals lead to the development of several types of cancer. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a protein kinase involved in the signal transduction pathway that links growth stimuli and cell cycle progression. It has emerged as a promising new target for intervening in the cancer process.