NEWS

In Brief

Linda Wang

Tamoxifen/Raloxifene Study Can Be Completed With Fewer Participants

The Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) can be completed with 3,000 fewer postmenopausal women volunteers than it originally estimated, according to the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, the group conducting the trial.

STAR is designed to compare whether the drug raloxifene can prevent breast cancer more effectively and with fewer side effects than tamoxifen. The study originally estimated that it would need to recruit 22,000 volunteers, based on participants having at least a 1.7% chance of developing invasive breast cancer within 5 years. In fact, the women enrolled so far have had about twice that minimum risk, meaning that the study would require fewer women to see prevention effects from the drugs.

With the new recruitment target, the researchers hope to complete enrollment next summer. Results of the study may be available by 2006.

More information on STAR is available at http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/digestpage/STAR.

New Guidelines Issued for Unrelated Marrow Transplants

The National Marrow Donor Program has issued guidelines on bone marrow transplantation that involve donors unrelated to the patient, a situation that affects 70% of individuals that need a bone marrow transplant.

The new guidelines call for a specialist to select potential donors for higher-resolution histocompatibility antigen (HLA) testing. The guidelines also encourage consideration of transplants as a treatment option even without a perfect match.

"While the best results are obtained with HLA matches, the new guidelines indicate to transplant physicians that they can get good results with some degree of HLA molecule mismatching, although the final word is not in on how mismatched the donor and recipient can be," said Carolyn Hurley, Ph.D., of the Georgetown University Medical Center, lead author of the guidelines, in a prepared statement.

The guidelines were published in the October issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

ASCO Updates Guidelines for Bisphosphonates in Breast Cancer

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has updated its 2000 guidelines for the use of bisphosphonates in women with metastatic breast cancer. The revised guidelines, which appeared in the November 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, provide specific recommendations on safety and adverse effects of the two approved bisphosphonates, pamidronate and zoledronic acid.

ASCO has also released a new patient guide, which is based on the updated guidelines. The guide describes situations in which bisphosphonates would be appropriate for women with breast cancer and presents guidelines for monitoring patients who are taking bisphosphonates. It also addresses issues such as the duration of use, the prevention of bone metastases, and the risk of developing osteoporosis.

The patient guide is available on ASCO’s People Living With Cancer Web site at http://www.plwc.org.

See also News, Vol. 95, No. 17, p. 1273, "Clinical Trials Test Bisphosphonates in Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer."



             
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