Oncology News

Upcomping Cancer Workshops 2011

2011-04-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

Accelerating Anticancer Agent Development and Validation Workshop:

ASCO is co-sponsoring the “Accelerating Anticancer Agent Development and Validation Workshop.” A postgraduate workshop for clinical and translational investigations focused on strategic planning to develop and validate new anticancer and cancer prevention agents and pathways. This is an intensive and interactive workshop in how to design effective strategies - from clinical trial initiative, to enabling trials, to pivotal efficacy trials - leading to the development of new anticancer and prevention agents. The course is taught by a distinguished faculty from across the academic, industry, consumer, and government (FDA) sectors.

May 18 - 20, 2011

Bethesda North Marriott Hotel

Bethesda, Maryland

For more information on 2011 workshop, please go to http://www.acceleratingworkshop.org/.

2011 ASCO/AACR Workshop: Methods in Clinical Cancer Research

An Intensive Workshop in the Essentials of Effective Clinical Trial Designs of Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Cancer for Clinical Fellow and Junior Faculty Clinical Researchers in All Oncology Subspecialties, including Radiation and Surgical Oncology and Radiology.

July 30 - August 5, 2011
Vail Marriott Mountain Resort
Vail, Colorado

For apply to this workshop visit http://myaacr.aacr.org/Core/Workshops/default.aspx

AngioDynamics 3Q profit up as oncology sales rise

2011-04-06T03:07:00.000-07:00

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Medical device maker AngioDynamics Inc. on Tuesday reported a higher profit for its fiscal third quarter in which it posted a 19 percent rise in sales in its oncology/surgery division.

AngioDynamics said its net income rose 14 percent to $3.8 million, or 15 cents per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28, up from $3.3 million, or, 13 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $54.6 million from $52.2 million. The revenue boost was offset by higher expenses, but lower income taxes pushed the company to a higher profit.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected net income of 13 cents per share and $54.3 million in revenue.

Skin cancer's influence on quality of life 'more substantial for women'

2011-02-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

A new study has found that women experience more health-related quality of life issues than men for up to 10 years following a diagnosis of the skin cancer melanoma.

"Although the prognosis is relatively good for about 80 percent of patients with melanoma, they remain at risk for disease progression and have an increased risk of developing subsequent melanomas," according to background information in the article from the authors.

To assess the impact of melanoma on the health-related quality of life of patients for up to 10 years after diagnosis, Cynthia Holterhues, from Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues, analyzed responses from a Dutch population-based postal survey among patients with melanoma for 1998 to 2008 using the Eindhoven Cancer Registry.

Study participants were sent an impact of cancer survey to measure the well-being of long-term cancer survivors. The 41-item survey included questions on physical, psychological, social, existential, meaning of cancer and health worry.

The response rate to the survey was 80 percent (562 participants). The average age of the respondents was about 57 years, 62 percent were female and 76 percent had a melanoma with a thickness of less than 2 millimeters.

"Women were significantly more likely to report higher levels of both positive and negative impacts of cancer," the authors write.

The lowest scores were on questions about cancer or treatment-related symptoms of the cancer that interferes with a patients' socializing, traveling, or time with family. The highest score was seen on existential, positive outlook subscale, which covers increased wisdom and spirituality because of the cancer experience.

"Women seemed to adjust their sun behavior more often (54 percent vs. 67 percent) than men and were more worried about the deleterious effects of UV radiation (45 percent vs. 66 percent)."

In conclusion, the authors write: "In clinical practice, this observation may imply that women need additional care, including follow-up and possibly counseling to optimally cope with their melanoma. However, men might be less aware of general measures of sun protection and need education about these measures after treatment."

The report has been published in the Archives of Dermatology. (ANI)

Oman: 3rd International Oncology Conference to Open in Muscat

2011-02-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

Oman (Muscat) - Deliberations of the 3rd Muscat International Oncology Conference will begin at Crowne Plaza Hotel on the forthcoming "Wednesday" under the auspices of Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Health Minister. The three-day conference is organized by the Royal Hospital represented by the Oncology Department.

Prominent international and local doctors in the treatment of tumors will give lectures in the conference. 13 Omani lecturers and 14 international lecturers from the other AGCC States, UK, France, Germany, US and India will speak before the conference.

The conference is divided into 7 sessions dealing basically with breast and nervous system tumors through more than 30 scientific papers and 4 scientific workshops on the practical practices in oncology treatment.

During the conference's sessions, Dr. al Saeedi will launch the book titled "the Modern Foundations in the Treatment of Breast Tumors 2011" written by a selection of elite doctors concerned with breast tumors tr.

Head and Neck Radiation Therapy

2011-02-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

Patients receiving radiation therapy to the head and neck are at risk for developing oral complications. Because of the risk of osteonecrosis in irradiated fields, oral surgery should be performed before radiation treatment begins.

Before Head and Neck Radiation Therapy:

# Conduct a pretreatment oral health examination and prophylaxis.
# Schedule dental treatment in consultation with the radiation oncologist.
# Extract teeth in the proposed radiation field that may be a problem in the future.
# Prevent tooth demineralization and radiation caries:
         * Fabricate custom gel-applicator trays for the patient.
         * Prescribe a 1.1% neutral pH sodium fluoride gel or a 0.4% stannous, unflavored fluoride gel (not fluoride rinses).
        * Use a neutral fluoride for patients with porcelain crowns or resin or glass ionomer restorations.
      * Be sure that the trays cover all tooth structures without irritating the gingival or mucosal tissues.
      * Instruct the patient in home application of fluoride gel. Several days before radiation therapy begins, the patient should start a daily 10-minute application.
       * Have patients brush with a fluoride gel if using trays is difficult.

# Allow at least 14 days of healing for any oral surgical procedures.
# Conduct prosthetic surgery before treatment, since elective surgical procedures are contraindicated on irradiated bone.

During Radiation Therapy:

    * Monitor the patient's oral hygiene.
    * Watch for mucositis and infection.
    * Advise against wearing removable appliances during treatment.

After Radiation Therapy:
    * Recall the patient for prophylaxis and home care evaluation every 4 to 8 weeks or as needed for the first 6 months after cancer treatment.
    * Reinforce the importance of optimal oral hygiene.
    * Monitor the patient for trismus: check for pain or weakness in masticating muscles in the radiation field. Instruct the patient to exercise three times a day, opening and closing the mouth as far as possible without pain; repeat 20 times.
    * Consult with the oncology team about use of dentures and other appliances after mucositis subsides. Patients with friable tissues and xerostomia may not be able to wear them again.
    * Watch for demineralization and caries. Lifelong, daily applications of fluoride gel are needed for patients with xerostomia.
    * Advise against elective oral surgery on irradiated bone because of the risk of osteonecrosis. Tooth extraction, if unavoidable, should be conservative, using antibiotic coverage and possibly hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Src: http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/Topics/CancerTreatment/ReferenceGuideforOncologyPatients.htm#headandneck

Types of Oncologists

2011-02-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

Oncologists may be divided on the basis of the type of treatment provided.

    * Radiation oncology: treatment primarily with radiation, a process called radiotherapy.
    * Surgical oncology: surgeons who specialize in tumor removal.
    * Medical oncology: treatment primarily with drugs, e.g. chemotherapy
    * Interventional oncology: interventional radiologists who specialize in minimally invasive image guided tumor therapies.
    * Gynecologic oncology: focuses on cancers of the female reproductive system.
    * Pediatric oncology: concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in children

Various Therapy for Cancer Treatment

2011-02-13T22:58:00.000-08:00

It completely depends on the nature of the tumor identified what kind of therapeutical intervention will be necessary. Certain disorders will require immediate admission and chemotherapy (such as ALL or AML), while others will be followed up with regular physical examination and blood tests.

Often, surgery is attempted to remove a tumor entirely. This is only feasible when there is some degree of certainty that the tumor can in fact be removed. When it is certain that parts will remain, curative surgery is often impossible, e.g. when there are metastases elsewhere, or when the tumor has invaded a structure that cannot be operated upon without risking the patient's life. Occasionally surgery can improve survival even if not all tumour tissue has been removed; the procedure is referred to as "debulking" (i.e. reducing the overall amount of tumour tissue). Surgery is also used for the palliative treatment of some of cancers, e.g. to relieve biliary obstruction, or to relieve the problems associated with some cerebral tumors. The risks of surgery must be weighed up against the benefits.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used as a first-line radical therapy in a number of malignancies. They are also used for adjuvant therapy, i.e. when the macroscopic tumor has already been completely removed surgically but there is a reasonable statistical risk that it will recur. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are commonly used for palliation, where disease is clearly incurable: in this situation the aim is to improve the quality of and prolong life.

Hormone manipulation is well established, particularly in the treatment of breast and prostate cancer.

There is currently a rapid expansion in the use of monoclonal antibody treatments, notably for lymphoma (Rituximab), and breast cancer (Trastuzumab).

Vaccine and other immunotherapies are the subject of intensive research.

Oncology Diagnostic Methods

2011-02-13T22:55:00.001-08:00

The most important diagnostic tool remains the medical history: the character of the complaints and any specific symptoms. Often a physical examination will reveal the location of a malignancy.

Diagnostic methods include:

    * Biopsy, either incisional or excisional;
    * Endoscopy, either upper or lower gastrointestinal, bronchoscopy, or nasendoscopy;
    * X-rays, CT scanning, MRI scanning, ultrasound and other radiological techniques;
    * Scintigraphy, Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, Positron emission tomography and other methods of nuclear medicine;
    * Blood tests, including Tumor markers, which can increase the suspicion of certain types of tumors or even be pathognomonic of a particular disease.

Apart from in diagnosis, these modalities are often used to determine operability, i.e. whether it is surgically possible to remove a tumor in its entirety.

Generally, a "tissue diagnosis" is considered essential for the proper identification of cancer. When this is not possible, "empirical therapy" may be given, based on the available evidence.

Occasionally, a metastatic lump or pathological lymph node is found for which a primary tumor cannot be found. This situation is referred to as "carcinoma of unknown primary", and again, treatment is empirical based on past experience of the most likely origin.

About Oncology

2011-02-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist.

Oncology is concerned with:

    * The diagnosis of any cancer in a person
    * Therapy (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other modalities)
    * Follow-up of cancer patients after successful treatment
    * Palliative care of patients with terminal malignancies
    * Ethical questions surrounding cancer care
    * Screening efforts:
          o of populations, or
          o of the relatives of patients (in types of cancer that are thought to have a hereditary basis, such as breast cancer)