• PET Scans & Medicare

    National Oncologic PET Registry http://www.cancerpetregistry.org/ Medicare has started a project to determine the potential benefits of PET scans for additional cancer applications, as input data to determine whether additional cancers and purposes should be covered by Medicare’s rules for paying for PET scans. Currently Medicare does not pay for PET scans for soft tissue sarcoma […]

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  • GSI attends ASCO

    Three members of GIST Support International attended the meeting of ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) in Atlanta June 2-6, 2006. Karen Loomis, Leslie Norman, MD, and Paul Rubin, MD volunteered their time to navigate the huge and hectic convention. Jim Loomis, Karen’s husband, also gave his time to go. They heard lectures, spent time […]

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  • Sutent approved in Canada

    Pfizer Canada announced May 31, 2006 that its oral multi-targeted agent, SUTENT (sunitinib malate) has been approved by Health Canada for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) after failure of imatinib mesylate treatment due to intolerance or resistance.

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  • Searchable online Canadian database of health product adverse reactions

    You can read the descriptive news story or go directly to the database.

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  • Novartis GIST Registry

    Help Novartis Oncology collect information from doctors on the diagnosis and management of GIST via doctor participation in a GIST Registry. Print a brochure about the GIST Registry to bring to your doctor.

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  • Sarcoma Awareness Week

    The Sarcoma Alliance urges all sarcoma patients to participate in Sarcoma Awareness Week June 11-18, 2006 by doing something on the local level to gain attention for sarcoma. Arthur Beckert prepared a list of possible activites you could do in your community: download the list here. For more information contact the Sarcoma Alliance at info@sarcomaalliance.org […]

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  • Phase I Clinical Trial of IPI-504

    — Novel Treatment Paradigm Has Potential to Address Resistance to Current Targeted Therapies — CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ — Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.today announced the initiation of a second Phase I clinical trial of IPI-504,the company’s Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitor and lead investigationalanti-cancer agent. This study, part of the Company’s evolving oncologydevelopment program, […]

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  • 4-year follow-up of Gleevec

    At the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium held in late January, 2006, Dr. Charles Blanke presented a poster detailing 4-year follow-up results of the patients in the first randomized Phase II clinical trial of Gleevec for treatment of GIST, known as the B2222 trial. These patients represent the longest ongoing data set about Gleevec used to […]

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  • Biology of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors — Corless et al. 22 (18): 3813 — Journal of Clinical Oncology

    Christopher L. Corless, Jonathan A. Fletcher, Michael C. Heinrich From the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute, Department of Pathology, and Division of Hematology and Oncology, Oregon Health & Science University and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR; and Department of Pathology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA </font /> Address reprint requests to […]

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  • Study finds new designer drug is potent treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia

    Hybrid targeted therapy effective in treating Gleevec-resistant disease BOSTON–Using rational drug design strategies, investigators atDana-Farber Cancer Institute and Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Basel,Switzerland have created a targeted therapy for chronic myelogenousleukemia (CML) that may ultimately be more effective than Gleevec ®, thecurrent frontline treatment. The researchers report in the Februaryissue of Cancer Cell that the new […]

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