Volume 2, Number 3 (May/June 2005)

Letter from the Editor

197

Extending our reach

Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, Editor-in-Chief

The West Clinic, Memphis, TN

Oncology nurse practitioners serve as effective partners and lifelines for busy physicians, if only more people would take advantage of their expertise. Another way to extend our practices: with genetic counseling and testing. In this issue, how to do both.

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Community Translations

205

Erlotinib in non-small cell lung cancer

Summary by Matt Stenger, MS; reviewed by James R. Rigas, MD, and Konstantin H. Dragnev, MD, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH

Erlotinib (Tarceva) is the first molecular targeted therapy to demonstrate a survival advantage for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

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214

Abraxane (nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel) in metastatic breast cancer

Summary by Matt Stenger, MS; reviewed by Joanne L. Blum, MD, PhD, Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Texas Oncology, PA, and US Oncology, Dallas, TX

For patients with metastatic breast cancer, nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab paclitaxel, Abraxane) represents an important treatment advance.

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Practice Survival Skills

218

Utilizing oncology nurse practitioners: a model strategy

Traci Young, MSN, RN, ONP

Wilshire Oncology Medical Group, Pomona, CA

When engaged as full members of the healthcare team, oncology nurse practitioners (ONPs) can enhance patient care and practice management. The experiences of an ONP in one practice serves as a how-to model.

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Technology

229

One-click prescribing

Jo Cavallo

More and more doctors are throwing away their pens and pads and going digital instead. Are you ready for e-prescribing? Here’s how to get connected.

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Community Dialogue

235

Coming together

Community Oncology interviews Robert E. Smith, Jr., MD, President, and Frank E. Sobash, Chief Operating Officer, of South Carolia Oncology Associates, Columbia

Is consolidation the wave of the future? Impending Medicare reforms have oncology practices scrambling for new and inventive ways to adapt. For South Carolina Oncology Associates, the logical step was to bring together three area practices under one roof.

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Controversies in Patient Management

245

Anticipating family issues associated with cancer risk assessment and genetic testing

Joy Larsen Haidle, MS, CGC

Hubert H. Humphrey Cancer Center, Robbinsdale, MN

To help patients deal with genetic test results, it’s crucial to address psychosocial issues in the family. The author discusses techniques for working with patients and their shifting family dynamics.

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Community Experience

253

Cancer genetic counseling: trends in patient referrals and genetic testing in a community-based program

Eric S. Fowler, MS, CGC,¹ Ellen R. Neese, MS,¹ and Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD^1,2

¹Baptist Centers for Cancer Care and ²The West Clinic, Memphis, TN

During the past 10 years, genetics has become increasingly integrated into oncology services. In 1999 the Memphis oncology community fashioned a creative approach to offering and billing genetic counseling services. A report on the trends in patient referrals, uptake, testing results, and expansion of services in one community-based program.

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Challenging Cases/Rare Cancers

265

Adrenal hemorrhage associated with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome

Gyi P. Mo, MD, Pauline Germaine, DO, Jason Mastoris, AB, and David H. Henry, MD

Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

Patients with antiphospholipid antibodies who present with vague abdominal or flank pain should be suspected of having adrenal infarction or hemorrhage as part of their evaluation.

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Original Research

271

Toxicity of intraperitoneal chemotherapy may be related to age in women treated for optimally debulked ovarian cancer

William Robinson, MD, Holly Omar, MD, and Nancy Blades, RN

The Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Center/Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, TX

Intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy can improve outcome in selected ovarian cancer patients but may be tolerated less well than intravenous (IV) therapy. This study retrospectively examines differences in toxicity associated with combined IV/IP versus IV-only chemotherapy in women with stage III ovarian cancer.

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Brief Communications

201

New paperless technology and HIPAA: medical policy at the crossroads

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Washington Update

277

Health hazard to community practice nurses: the ‘big worry’

Cori Vanchieri

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279

Medicare reimbursement ratcheting down

Ted Okon and Steve Coplon

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© 2005 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors or advertisers. The authors, editors, and publishers make every effort to ensure that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion, or statement is published in this journal and that drug names, dosages, and recommendations are accurate. However, readers should confirm all dosage schedules against the manufacturer’s package information data. The Publisher, Editorial Board, and their employees accept no liability whatsoever for the consequences of any inaccurate or misleading data, opinion, or statement.