Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
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J Natl Compr Canc Netw · Oct 2012
ReviewUse of endobronchial ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound to stage the mediastinum in early-stage lung cancer.
Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer, with more than 160,000 deaths and 226,000 newly diagnosed cases estimated in 2012. Because treatment and survival are directly linked to disease stage, accurate staging in all patients is crucial. ⋯ Mediastinoscopy has previously been considered the gold standard for mediastinal lymph node sampling; however, over the past 10 years the use of ultrasound-guided lymph node sampling has been shown to be at least as sensitive, and has the added advantage of being able to access significantly more stations. This article reviews the current standards of lung cancer staging in 2012.
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J Natl Compr Canc Netw · Apr 2012
ReviewCannabinoids in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Before the introduction of the serotonin receptor antagonists (5-HT3 receptor antagonists) in the early 1990s, limited effective options were available to prevent and treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). In 1985, the FDA approved 2 cannabinoid derivatives, dronabinol and nabilone, for the treatment of CINV not effectively treated by other agents. ⋯ Because of medical and legal concerns, the use of marijuana is not recommended for management of CINV and is not part of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Antiemesis. Although patients may like to pursue this treatment option in states that have approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes, its use remains legally and therapeutically controversial.
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J Natl Compr Canc Netw · Feb 2012
ReviewLung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography: costs, national expenditures, and cost-effectiveness.
A recent randomized trial showed that low-dose CT (LDCT) screening reduces lung cancer mortality. Health care providers need an assessment of the national budget impact and cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening before this intervention is adopted in practice. Using data from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey, CMS, and the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), the authors performed an economic analysis of LDCT screening that includes a budget impact model, an estimate of additional costs per lung cancer death avoided attributed to screening, and a literature search of cost-effectiveness analyses of LDCT screening. ⋯ Previous cost-effectiveness analyses have not conclusively shown that LDCT is cost-effective. LDCT screening may add substantially to the national health care expenditures. Although LDCT screening can avoid more than 8000 lung cancer deaths per year, a cost-effectiveness analysis of the NLST will be critical to determine the value of this intervention and to guide decisions about its adoption.
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J Natl Compr Canc Netw · Sep 2011
ReviewEvolution of radiation therapy within the German Hodgkin Study Group trials.
Since its beginning, more than 16,000 patients have been enrolled in the multicentric randomized trials of the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) for adult patients. Within 6 study generations, the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma has been developed stepwise by using the results of the completed protocols. Now the sixth generation is active. ⋯ For the advanced stages, the question of radiotherapy is still unclear. Preliminary results of the GHSG and others show that additive radiotherapy after intensive chemotherapy might be useful for elective subgroups of patients. The extensive radiotherapy quality assurance program, performed by the GHSG and its radiotherapy reference center, has proven to be successful and necessary to ensure that, with reduced radiation doses and reduced radiation volumes, precise radiotherapy, as defined by the protocol, will be performed by the participating radiotherapy departments.
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The involvement of axillary nodes remains a significant prognostic factor in breast cancer. However, management has changed from complete surgical staging to sentinel lymph node biopsies. ⋯ This article focuses on the examination of recent evidence in management of the axilla. It focuses on both the prognostic and therapeutic information gleaned from isolated tumor cells and micrometastatic disease and on the use of completion axillary lymph node dissections or axillary radiation in preventing regional recurrence.