Tuesday, January 12, 2010
FDA calls for more research into erythropoiesis-stimulating agents | HemOncToday
"PERSPECTIVE
It should be emphasized that the FDA release focuses solely on patients with chronic renal disease, not cancer. It's a different population, so nothing in this release applies to the anemia of chemotherapy or patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. Right now, the ASCO/ASH ESA guideline committee is looking at present data to see if they need to make any modifications in the guidelines for the use of ESAs. The NCCN modified its guideline about a year ago and agree with the FDA recommendations that ESAs shouldn't be used in a standard fashion in patients being treated for curative intent. That's become standard of care, and for patients on chemotherapy, nothing has changed in the past year.
- Samuel Silver, MD, PhD
HemOnc Today Editorial Board member"
Special Report: NCI Cancer Bulletin - Ovarian Cancer
Special Report: NCI Cancer Bulletin - Ovarian Cancer
Depression assessment and classification in palliative cancer patients: a systematic literature review
"The full range of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria was seldom assessed,i.e. less than one-third of the assessments in the review tookinto account the duration of symptoms and 18% assessed consequences and impact upon patient functioning. A diversity of assessment methods had been used. Few studies classified depression byreferring to a diagnostic system or by using cut-off scores.Evidently, there is a need for a consensus on how to assessand conceptualize depression and related conditions in palliative care."
Monday, January 11, 2010
media item: Imaging studies help detect underlying cancers in patients with neurologic symptoms
Paraneoplastic neurologic disorders occur in some people with cancer—including lung, breast or ovarian cancer
Letter of Response: Disregarding clinical trial-based patient-reported outcomes is unwarranted: Five advances to substantiate the scientific stringency of quality-of-life measurement
Dear Dr Sprangers;
I want to express my appreciation for your paper detailing these Patient and research issues which have been outstanding and often unheeded far too long. Unfortunately, I must add, even as we speak. These issues have been of great concern to our cancer communities over much time. Without the inclusion of Patients in all that affects the research, at and as the bottom line issue, the value and efforts are, yes, meaningless. Patient QOL measurements, need to be addressed, so that the real life issues are not censured through statistical analyses and re-interpretation.
Without an emphasis encompassing integrity and ethics, if not a moral obligation, QOL research and all research, is futile. It is one of our largest failings. I have never found a way to quite understand how we have gotten to this place, not only in research but often times in practice.
I do see glimmers of hope, but over time these 'glimmers' have been replaced with consistently witnessing, as a patient/survivour, much suffering combined with a profess lack of urgency. While understanding of course that the specific issue of Patient QOL does not operate in a silo, it is because we are.
Acknowledging special exceptions in clinical practice/s, when someone mentions: "I know how you feel" my response is quite simply this: "No, actually, you do not."
Thank you once again, I greatly appreciate your efforts.
Sandi Pniauskas
Canada
http://ovariancancerandus.blogspot.com
abstract:
http://tinyurl.com/ykmf39w
or:
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/02841860903440288?prevSearch=authorsfield%253A%2528Sprangers%252C%2BMirjam%2BA.%2BG.%2529&searchHistoryKey=
Reporting on Cancer Research
While this site's intended target audience is journalists/media, there is some good information here for everyone. Some of it though is still pretty technical.
Disregarding clinical trial-based patient-reported outcomes is unwarranted: Five advances to substantiate the scientific stringency of quality-of-life
"Background. The clinical impact of trial-based quality of life (QL) outcomes is frequently underestimated due, in part, to prejudice and lack of knowledge by the medical community ....It is a waste of effort and money and also unethical when collected trial-based QL data are not used to their full power. QL and other patient-reported outcomes deserve to be included in more trials, with full disclosure of all results, and standardized interpretation."
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Comparison of extended colectomy and limited resection in patients with Lynch syndrome.
abstract for our Lynch Syndrome/ovarian members or also those who family members may have been diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer
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