Posted by James
High-Risk Cytogenetic Abnormalities Respond to Alemtuzumab in Patients with B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Presenter: Anna Dmoszynska, MD, Professor, Department of Hematology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
A cytogenetic profile of the patients participating in a large-scale clinical trial comparing alemtuzumab (Campath, Berlex/ Genzyme) with chlorambucil (Leukeran, GlaxoSmithKline) in previously untreated patients with progressive B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) demonstrated statistically superior overall response rates and complete response rates to alemtuzumab in patients with certain poor prognostic cyto-genetic abnormalities compared with patients treated with chlorambucil. This drug looks promising as a novel, more effective therapeutic option for patients with poor-risk B-CLL.
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Posted by James
Speaker: Robert J. Motzer, MD, Attending Physician, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
Sunitinib maleate (Sutent, Pfizer), an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets a number of kinase enzymes (including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor [VEGFR]), demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in progressionfree survival and objective response rate when compared with interferon-a (Roferon, Roche) as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (MRCC).
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Posted by James
Speaker: Shaker Dakhil, MD, President, The Cancer Center of Kansas, Wichita, Kansas
Preliminary results from a phase 2 study suggest that the combination of cetuximab (Erbitux, Bristol-Myers Squibb/ ImClone), an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeting monoclonal antibody, with FOLFOX 6 (Oxaliplatin [Eloxatin, Sanofi-Aventis]), when added to simplified bimonthly leucovorin (Leucovorin, Roxane) and a 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) regimen, was safe and effective as a first-line therapy in EGRF-positive patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
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Posted by James
Exemestane Following Tamoxifen Extends Survival in Women with Breast Cancer
Speaker: Judith Bliss, MD, Professor of Medicine, and Director, Institute for Cancer Research, Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit, London, England
(Dr. Bliss spoke for the principal investigator, Raaul C. Coombes, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology, and Head, Department of Oncology, Imperial College of London, London, England.)
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Posted by James
California Cancer Registry collects information on every case of cancer diagnosed or treated in California. Standard data are abstracted from the medical record for each case by trained tumor registrars, according to Cancer Reporting in California: Volume 1, Abstracting and Coding Procedures for Hospitals and computerized using C/NET, a software package developed for tumor registries. C/NET meets all reporting requirements of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, the American College of Surgeons and the California Cancer Reporting System. The quality of data is maintained through periodic training programs for hospital registrars and field abstractors, reabstraction of a 10% sample of case finding, and computer edits for completion and consistency. Additional audits of case finding and data abstraction are conducted by the California Department of Health Services. Completeness of coverage is Completeness is estimated to be higher than 99% annually from 1988 through 1998.
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Posted by James
Modeling
Cost-effectiveness modeling of colorectal screening programs was done using a model developed at the Office for Technology Assessment (Washington, DC) and described in detail elsewhere. This model estimates the net present value of lifetime costs and years of life gained in a cohort of 100,000 50-year-old persons over a 35-year period from different colorectal cancer screening strategies using specified assumptions about the natural history of colorectal cancer and the adenoma or carcinoma sequence, the sensitivity and specificity of each screening technology for early cancer and polyps, the cost of screening, follow-up and postpolypecto-my surveillance procedures, and the incremental costs of treating colorectal cancer. Costs were taken from 2000 Medicare reimbursement rates. Costs were discounted to their present value at 5% per year. The main assumptions of the model are summarized in Table 1. Justification of model assumptions are based on reviews of the published literature. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by James
Cancer screening in the United States has evolved to include the use of gender and race/ethnicity to stratify patient risk. Mammography is recommended only in women because of the low incidence of male breast cancer. Prostate cancer screening is recommended for most men at age 50 but is recommended for black men at age 45 because of high age-specific incidence rates in this group. We have shown that gender-specific racial/ethnic colorectal cancer disease patterns affect the cost-effectiveness of colorectal screening. Colorectal screening was much more cost-effective in black men than in other groups. Screening black men beginning at age 45 was similar in cost-effectiveness to screening white men and black women and more cost-effective than screening Latino and Asian men and nonblack women beginning at age 50. Differences were robust and persisted after doubling the polyp incidence rate for black men. The favorable cost-effectiveness ratio of screening black men largely reflected high age-specific colorectal cancer incidence rates in this group.
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