Stanton R. Mehr

Topics covered in this issue include: 1) High Cancer Drug Costs Altering the Research and Treatment Dynamic 2) $128 Million Settlement to Physicians 3) Coinsurance Change for Medicare Beneficiaries for Colon Cancer Screening 4) Managed Care Penetration: Not a Source of Significant Variation in Rectal Surgery Follow-up 5) Specialty Pharmacy Distributors Likely to Be the Norm for Oncology Agents 6) Better Practices for Cancer-Related Infections 7) Radioimmunotherapy Underutilized in Lymphoma?

Articles in this issue include: 1) Norway: Hopes for Trastuzamab Use in Endometrial Cancer 2) Switzerland: New Guidelines Highlight Use of Bisphosphonates in Elderly Patients With Bone Metastases 3) Italy: Bringing Out All of the Artillery to Fight Mesothelioma 4) Poland: Radiotherapy in Lung Cancer: Former Soviet Bloc Countries at a Disadvantage 5) United Kingdom: --Are More Transfusions Being Used in Patients With Cancer? --Watchful Waiting Advanced Even for Advanced Prostate Cancer --Exemestane Proven Useful for Breast Cancer After Switching From Tamoxifen

The topics covered in this issue include: 1) Exemestane Is a Cost-Effective Alternative to Tamoxifen in Estrogen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer 2) A More Accurate Way of Deciding Which Prostate Cancers to Treat? 3) Senate Proposal Would Increase Payments to Oncologists… 4) …But Medicare Seeks to Cut Physician Payments Across the Board 5) Factors Influencing Treatment Interruptions With Imatinib 6) "Patient-Centered" Management Reduces Services Use But Not Outcomes 7) Inappropriate Medications Rife in Last Year of Life

Articles in this issue include: 1) England: GAMEC for Untreated or Relapsed Refractory Germ-Cell Tumors Preventing Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 2) Australia: Immunodeficiency May Be Linked to Multiple Cancer Types 3) Sweden: Long-Term Steroid Use in Rheumatoid Arthritis Has One Benefit, at Least 4) Netherlands: Increasing Survival of Infants With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia 5) Israel: Breast Cancer Survival Rates No Worse for Women with BRCA Mutations 6) France: Rituximab Added to CHOP Chemotherapy in Poor-Risk Older Patients with Untreated Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Results in Good Survival

Among the articles provided in this issue are topics presented at the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology: 1) Spain: When Two "Mabs" Are Better Than One 2) United Kingdom: Evidence Mounts Against Use of Adjuvant External Beam Radiotherapy in Endometrial Cancer 3) Norway: Clinical Data Suggest Potential Versatility of Pemetrexed for Injection (Alimta)-Based Regimens in Lung Cancer 4) Germany: An Anti-Inflammatory Approach to Inducing Remission in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

In this issue we highlight topics presented at the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology: 1) Focus Groups and Advisory Boards: To What Extent Do They Supplement Oncologists' Income? 2) The High Overhead Cost of Complying With National Guidelines Other topics covered include: 1) Research Budgets Not Keeping Pace With Inflation, Cancer Advances May Suffer 2) New National Cancer Network Seeks to Improve Care Quality 3) Non-Hodgkin�s Lymphoma Guidelines Updated 4) Genetic Test May Be Unnecessary if Children Receive Lower Dose 5) Alternative to Colonoscopy Studied for Colon Cancer Screening

Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Bad News for Health Plans: MRIs Gain in Breast Cancer Detection 2) Do Terminally Ill Patients Have a Right to Receive Unproven Drugs? 3) Benefits of HPV Vaccine Still Unclear, but Time Will Tell 4) Updated Kidney Cancer Guidelines Focus on Medication Revisions 5) Simultaneous, not Sequential, Abl Kinase Inhibitors for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia 6) The Cost Effectiveness of Proton Beam Radiation Use in Prostate Cancer 7) Can We Stem the Waste of Unused Trastuzumab?

The Clinical Trials reported in this issue include: PHASE III: 1) Is Combination or Sequential Treatment for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer More Effective? 2) Cervical Cancer Vaccines Do Not Work Like Investigational Cancer Vaccines, Study Confirms 3) Docetaxel to Improve Clinical and Quality of Life Improvement in the Treatment of Advanced Gastric or Gastroesophageal Cancer PHASE II: 1) Two-Drug Combination Fights Metastatic Kidney Cancer 2) Intensify the Dose to Treat Metastatic Testicular Cancer 3) Vaccination Plus Chemotherapy for Advanced Colorectal Cancer Offers Hope 4) Testing Sequential Therapy in Patients With Poor-Risk Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Articles in this issue include: 1) Italy: Coffee as a Prophylaxis Against Liver Cancer 2) China: Will a Daily Vitamin Prevent Liver Cancer as Well? 3) India: A Cost-Effective Method of Screening for Cervical Cancer in Developing Countries 4) Multiple Sites in Europe: More Fiber From Cereal, Not Fruits or Vegetables,Proves to Protect from Gastric Cancer 5) Turkey: Tamoxifen Extends Life in Patients With Advanced Ovarian Cancer in Retrospective Pilot Trial 6) Canada: Obesity Predicts Prostate Cancer Recurrence 7) Australia & New Zealand: Does Medical Immunosuppression Increase the Risk of Ocular Cancer?

News articles featured in this issue include: 1) Off-Label Use of Oncology Medications 2) More Work to Do on Breast Cancer Guideline Adoption 3) Multiple Biopsies Are Needed to Diagnose Prostate Cancer 4) Which Model Best Predicts Which Women Will Test Positive for BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 Mutations? 5) More Evidence in Favor of Virtual Colonoscopy 6) National Provider Identifier 7) Pharmacogenomic Field Advances in Lung Cancer

The Clinical Trials Reported in this issue include: PHASE III: 1) Trastuzumab and Anastrozole Extend Breast Cancer Survival in Patients Who Received Anastrozole Alone Earlier PHASE II: 1) Motexafin for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer 2) Oral Satraplatin Monotherapy for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer Shows Little Response 3) First-Line Treatment for Metastatic Breast Cancer 4) Breast Cancer Treatment With Sorafenib 5) Colorectal Cancer Treatment With Cetuximab plus FOLFOX-4 6) Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Improves the Treatment of Advanced Gastric Cancer

Articles in this issue include: 1) Italy: Is the Knee Bone Connected to the Lung? 2) Turkey: Gabapentin Helps Opioid Treatment Alleviate Neuropathic Pain 3) China: Is a Blood Test for Early Diagnosis of Liver Cancer Within Reach? 4) Israel: Evidence Supports Finasteride's Utility, not Associated With Advanced Prostate Cancer 5) Spain: Prolonging Survival in Pediatric Patients With High-Grade Brainstem Gliomas 6) Netherlands: Long-Term Study Better Delineates Risks in Testicular Cancer Treatment 7) Sweden: Acupuncture Ineffective for Radiotherapy-Induced Nausea

Topics covered in this issue include:1) Dosing Patterns and Costs of Erythropoesis-Stimulating Agents in Patients With Cancer2) New Practice Guideline Updates Treatment of Nonâ%uFFFD%uFFFDSmall Cell Lung Cancer3) Large Health Insurer Begins Genetic Risk Counseling for Cancer4) Multiple Myeloma Guidelines Now Include Combination Therapy With Bortezomib5) Survey Finds That Managed Car Executives Are Misinformed About the Value and Cost of Cancer Biologics

The Clinical Trials reported in this issue include:PHASE III:

Articles in this issue include:Sweden: What Do Genes Have to Do With Cancer Survival?

Topics covered in this issue include:1) A Need to Better Manage Use of CT Scans to Avoid Excess Cancer

The Clinical Trials reported in this issue include:PHASE III:1) What Factors Predict Prognosis in Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma?

Articles in this issue include:1) South Korea: Is Intermittent Imatinib Therapy for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia an Option?

Topics covered in this issue include:1) National Managed Care Plans Stop Paying for Anesthetic in Colonoscopy

The Clinical Trials reported in this issue include:PHASE III:1) Central Nervous System Stimulant for Brain Tumors

Articles in this issue include:United Kingdom: The Pill's Anti-Ovarian Cancer Effect Lasts for Decades The Netherlands.

Topics covered in this issue include:1. Cost Effectiveness of Extended Letrozole Treatment After Discontinuation of Tamoxifen.

Clinical Trial Reports in this issue include:Phase IV:1) Long-Term Aspirin Therapy Reduces Colorectal Cancer RiskPhase III:1) Does Adding Cisplatin to Adjuvant Chemotherapy Improve Outcomes in Advanced Gastric Cancer?

Articles in this issue include:1) Germany: Drop the Syringe, Pick up the Tattooing Needle

Phase IV:1) Cancer Risks and Postmenopausal Hormone Link ConfirmedPhase III:1) Do Vitamins Protect Against Lung Cancer?2) Longer Life Expectancy in Pancreatic Cancer When Gemcitabine Is Added to Chemotherapy3) Outcomes Improve With Letrozole Treatment in Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer4. Pemetrexed vs. Docetaxel for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer TreatmentPhase II:1) Talactoferrin-Alfa Treatment for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer2) Advanced Carcinoid Systemic Therapy

1) Cost Is Creeping Into the Therapy Decision-Making Discussion2) Rounding Down Chemotherapy Doses: Does It Save Money for the Health System?3) HER2 Testing and Treatment Patterns in Breast Cancer4) Cost Effectiveness of a Drug Combination in Malignant Mesothelioma5) The Effect of Epoetin Alfa on Quality of Life in Patients With Anemia6) ASCO Seeks to Improve Coordination of Care, Introduces Treatment Template7) What Factors Increase the Likelihood of Colon Cancer Screening?