Oncology News

AMA Supports Latest Healthcare Reform Legislation With Reservations

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:56:35 EDT

The American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics also are backing the reform bill slated for a House vote on Sunday.

Omega-3 Formulation Has Antineoplastic Activity in Patients With Familial Adenomatous Polyposis

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:26:32 EDT

Treatment for 6 months led to reduced rectal polyp number and size in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

NCCN Guideline on Occult Cancer Show Immunohistochemistry Is "Rapidly Changing"

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:26:15 EDT

The outstanding change in the NCCN update of its guideline for cancer of an unknown primary origin is in the new immunohistochemical markers.

Chelation "Used Judiciously" Recommended by NCCN Task Force Report for Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:46:18 EDT

A New NCCN Task Force Report on transfusions and iron overload in myelodysplastic syndromes urges chelation therapy, but used "judiciously".

U.S. FDA Restricts Tobacco Marketing to Kids

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:44:19 EDT

U.S. health officials on Thursday sought to clamp down on the marketing of cigarettes to children and teenagers, issuing national limits on vending machine sales, free samples and taking other steps after a failed attempt more than a decade ago.

Lapatinib Minimally Effective for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:22:38 EDT

Although well tolerated, lapatinib is minimally effective as monotherapy for advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a report in the March 15th Clinical Cancer Research.

Outlook Good Once CML Patients Survive 5 Years After Allogeneic BMT

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:22:38 EDT

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who have been in remission for 5 years after allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) have low relapse rates and good longer term survival, according to an online report March 8th in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Senate Faces Vote to Delay Medicare Pay Cut to May 1 in Light of House Action

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:09:28 EDT

Congressional Democrats need time to redo their bill extending the pay cut's effective date to October 1.

Neuro-Oncologists Extend Survival in Nervous System Cancers

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:48:36 EDT

Clinical and basic science advances have improved outcomes for patients with nervous system cancers, a new series of articles show.

Older Patients Less Likely to Get Adjuvant Chemo for Colorectal Cancer

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:48:59 EDT

Older patients in the community are less likely to receive supplemental chemotherapy for colorectal cancer, despite findings suggesting that therapy is no more toxic in this population.

Reconciliation Bill for Healthcare Reform Sets Up Congressional Showdown

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:32:47 EDT

New bill would boost Medicaid payment rates for physicians to Medicare levels, but only for 2 years.

FDA Approves Orphan Drug Status for Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:37:33 EDT

The FDA has approved orphan drug status for a therapeutic vaccine to treat pancreatic cancer.

Active Surveillance Is a Safe Alternative for Small Testicular Masses

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:52:18 EDT

Ultrasound surveillance is a safe alternative to immediate resection for small testicular masses discovered incidentally, Canadian researchers report.

Larger Needles Boost Pancreatic Biopsy Accuracy

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:52:18 EDT

Larger gauge aspiration needles can allow for accurate diagnosis of pancreatic masses when a cytopathologist is not on hand to check sample adequacy, new research from Korea shows.

Survey Shows Palliative Care Widely Available in US, But Gaps Still Exist

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:38:24 EDT

One new idea that is being discussed is changing the term "palliative care" to "supportive care services."

Health Insurers Frequently Misclassify Physicians as Low-Cost or High-Cost Providers, RAND Reports

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:45:22 EDT

Health Insurers Frequently Misclassify Physicians as Low- or High-Cost Providers

Is SBRT a New Standard of Care in Inoperable Lung Cancer?

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:43:34 EDT

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) improves survival in patients with early-stage nonsmall-cell lung cancer who are unable to undergo surgery.

Genomic Testing Adds Little to the Prediction of Breast Cancer Risk

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:58:33 EDT

When 10 recently identified SNPs associated with breast cancer were added to a commonly used risk-assessment tool, performance only moderately improved.

Gene-Expression Signatures in Lung Cancer: Not Ready Yet

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:31:50 EDT

A review of gene-expression-based prognostic signatures in lung cancer has found little evidence that any of them are ready for clinical use.

Looking at the Future of Genomic Medicine: An Expert Interview With Eric J. Topol, MD

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:00:40 EDT

Dr. Topol discusses highlights of a recent conference focused on the 4 areas of genomic medicine in which the planners saw the most exciting work going on and sensed changes afoot