Table of Contents
Highlights of Supportive Care at ESMO
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 Lesley McKarney Several studies presented at the 2006 meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) could prove to have significant clinical impact in the area of supportive care. Of note were studies on the need for and...
Canadian Perspective by Dr. Sehdev
In the study by López-Pousa and colleagues, there were a few factors – curative versus palliative therapy, performance status, and baseline lymphocyte and neutrophil counts – that were determined to be impor-tant indicators of risk of febrile neutropenia. These...
Advances in the Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 Colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to be a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over the last 50 years, the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) has consisted of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) -based...
Canadian Perspective by Dr. Sehdev
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 The Roche-funded trial comparing XELOX to FOLFOX is the largest trial ever done for colorectal cancer, involving more than 2,000 patients in British and Spanish clinics. This is also the first data for first-line metastatic disease...
Lung Cancer Highlights at ESMO
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 Lesley McKarney Non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% of all lung cancers.1 While newer treatment options have resulted in small improvements in survival for early- and advanced-stage NSCLC, clinical outcomes for this...
Canadian Perspective by Dr. Ellis
The hypothesis of this study was that XRCC3 is important in the repair of cisplatin-induced damage of DNA, and that low XRCC3 expression would impair the cell’s ability to repair DNA and make cells more sensitive to cisplatin. However, they found no differences in...
Evidence-Based Symptom Management and The Role of Supportive Care in Symptom Management
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 Meenakshi Kashyap Patients with cancer experience a range of symptoms, many of them simultaneously, as a result of their disease or as a result of treatments for their disease. The proper management of these symptoms is vital, since...
Canadian Perspective by Dr. Lemonde
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 Oral and gastrointestinal mucositis are common symptoms related to chemotherapy. As stated by Dr. McGuire, the guidelines outlined by Brennan et al.1 for the assessment and management of mucositis are very important, and need to be...
Improving Supportive Services
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 Meenakshi Kashyap Although for many cancers increased rates of cure have occurred in the past two decades, for the population at large, the diagnosis of cancer is still inextricably linked with death. Moreover, living longer with...
Canadian Perspective by Dr. Lemonde
NE Oncology Issue - November 2006 Dr. Wilkinson’s study on improving communica-tion skills in nurses was groundbreaking. When I was a novice nurse I used my intuition to help patients as best as I could. But most nurses would feel better equipped if they were taught...
Contributors
Manon Lemonde, MB
Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT
Dr. Manon Lemonde received her PhD in biomedical sciences from the Université of Montréal. She has many publications related to symptom management and social support. She has presented at oncology conferences and was also instrumental in developing workshops on fatigue in cancer. Dr. Lemonde’s oncology research interests are related to quality of life, human health resources planning in terms of recruitment and retention, and work environment.
Peter Ellis, MBBS, MMed (Clin Epi), PhD, FRACP
Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University
Chair of the Juravinski Cancer Centre Lung Disease Site Team
Executive Member of the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) Clinical Trials Group Lung Disease Site Committee Dr. Peter Ellis is a staff medical oncologist at the Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC). He is a member of Cancer Care Ontario’s Practice Guideline Initiative, Provincial Lung Disease Site Group. He is also an investigator on several NCIC and pharmaceutical industry-sponsored multi-centre phase III clinical trials in breast and lung cancer. Dr. Ellis has a research interest in the role of the consumer in decision making, and is an investigator in several studies in this area. He is also co-principal investigator in a systematic review examining diffusion and dissemination of cancer control interventions.
Mark Clemons, MB, BSc, MRCP(UK), MD
Associate Professor of Medicine and Oncology, McGill University Division of Hematology, McGill University Health Centre Head of Breast Medical Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
Dr. Mark Clemons is a staff oncologist at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto. He has published widely on the management of breast cancer, and has a research program evaluating the mechanisms of resistance and sensitivity to treatment for bone metastases and locally advanced breast cancer.
Dana Cole, BScPharm, ACPR, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist and Pharmacy Residency Coordinator, Prince George Regional Hospital
Head of Breast Medical Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Northern British Columbia
Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia
Dana Cole’s clinical interests are in supportive care, particularly anemia management, venous thromboembolism and palliative care. She has served as a reviewer for the professional development and assessment program, as a member of the advanced practitioner credentialing committee with the College of Pharmacists of BC, and as a member of the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology and the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.
Sandeep Sehdev, MD
Oncologist, William Osler Health Centre, Brampton
Dr. Sehdev is a community-focused medical oncologist at one of Canada’s largest community hospitals. He completed his fellowship at the Princess Margaret in Toronto in 1991, and his clinical practice treats most types of cancer. However, he has a keen interest in breast cancer, lung cancer, and patient education. Dr. Sehdev has been involved in breast cancer clinical trials through NCIC and BCIRG groups and has recently chaired several medical advisory board meetings on the role of hormonal therapy in breast cancer. In particular, Dr. Sehdev has been part of one of the largest and longest running breast cancer trials ever, the ATAC trial.