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Volume 3, Number 3 (March 2006) | |||||
Letter from the Editor |
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120 |
Staying proactive The West Clinic, Memphis, TN If the First Annual Community Oncology Conference proved anything, it’s that quality and outcomes must be documented and value-based payments are coming. Several articles in this issue speak to that. The upshot? Practices must stay proactive.
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Community Translations |
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127 |
Fluoropyrimidine therapy: a new chapter in an old story Aptium Oncology Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Desert, Palm Springs, CA Fluoropyrimidines are antimetabolites that have been an integral part of systemic therapy for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Capecitabine, an oral fluoropyrimidine, mimics the actions of infusional 5-FU but with considerably less toxicity. It was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for adjuvant treatment of patients with Dukes’ C (stage III) colon cancer. A summary of the trials and data involving capecitabine in a variety of cancers, including breast, esophageal, and head and neck malignancies.
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Community Dialogue |
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133 |
Facing the big-picture problem in healthcare Clinician, discipline thyself. That is just one of the messages from healthcare reform advocate Dr. Brian Klepper. Industry-wide management, he says, could help control the explosion in the cost of health insurance, which is pricing individual, corporate, and government purchasers out of the market. That cost spiral is the problem from which all our healthcare woes stem, says Dr. Klepper. What’s needed, he says, is a coming together of the many and disparate special interest groups to collaborate on solutions that can reestablish the system’s stability and sustainability.
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Economics/Practice Management |
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139 |
Is your practice ready for an uncertain future? The questions you should be asking your staff Cancer Clinics of Excellence, Connecticut Oncology Association, South Windsor, CT Call a staff meeting and ask yourselves: Are we ready to face what could be a chaotic future? The author provides 23 of the most crucial questions that you need to explore now. Your future, and that of your patients, depends on it. Also: Examine three possible scenarios for what lies ahead.
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Challenging Cases/Rare Cancers |
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152 |
Evaluation and management of gestational trophoblastic disease Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY Failure to cure patients with gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) has been attributed mainly to the presence of extensive choriocarcinoma at the time of diagnosis, lack of initial high-risk therapy, and the inability of presently used chemotherapy protocols to control disease. However, with accurate initial treatment, GTD is considered to be highly curable. In this article, the authors explore the diagnostic approaches to and current management options for patients with hydatidiform moles and GTD.
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Controversies in Patient Management |
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158 |
Genetic testing for hereditary melanoma: controversial, standard of care, or somewhere between the two? Baptist Centers for Cancer Care, Pathology Group of the MidSouth, and The West Clinic, Memphis, TN The availability of molecular testing for hereditary melanoma presents a unique challenge in the community oncology setting because clinical research has not yet shown that increased surveillance and prevention strategies have an impact on morbidity and mortality. The authors present a case study and a brief review of this disease.
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Implementing Clinical Trials |
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163 |
The benefits and challenges of conducting clinical trials International Oncology Network, Baltimore, MD This is the first in a series of articles Community Oncology will publish about conducting clinical trials in community-based oncology practices. No matter what stage you are at—whether you’re just thinking of dipping a toe into this revenue stream, or are looking for ways to better manage trials already under way—this series will provide practical information to help you more effectively care for patients and more efficiently run the business end of research programs. In this first article of the series, we weigh the benefits versus the potential difficulties of running clinical trials—an enterprise not to be taken lightly.
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Book Review |
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136 |
A molecular medicine resource Reviewed by Philip A. Philip, MD, PhD, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI
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Brief Communications |
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144 |
Strongyloidiasis diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy in a patient with multiple myeloma Joan Karnell Cancer Center and Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
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Technology |
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148 |
Picking the right PDA Personal digital assistants are fast becoming the must-have technology for busy clinicians. But how do you choose the right one? Here, some tips.
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Washington Update |
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168 |
Medicare reform is shutting patients out Community Oncology Alliance, Washington, DC Your reports are in, and they’re not encouraging. Nearly 70 practices in more than 25 states have reported to the Community Oncology Alliance on problems with Medicare.
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On Submitting Articles |
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170 |
Guide for authors
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© 2006 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. |
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