Healthcare Industry News: National Comprehensive Cancer Network
News Release - May 22, 2007
NCCN Updates Esophageal and Gastric Cancer Guidelines
JENKINTOWN, Pa.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announces updates to two NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) -- Esophageal Cancer and Gastric Cancer. The NCCN Guidelines are updated continuously by panels of world-renowned experts and are widely recognized and applied as the standard of care in oncology in the United States in both the community and the academic practice settings.In response to favorable Phase III trials (ML 17032 and REAL 2), the panel added oral fluoropyrimidine, Capecitabine (Xeloda®, Roche) as an option for treatment of esophageal and gastric cancer. The REAL 2 study, the largest ever phase III study in advanced esophageal and gastric cancer, found that Capecitabine may replace 5-FU and Oxaliplatin may replace Cisplatin in triplet regimens used for the treatment of advanced esophageal and gastric cancer.
A new page entitled "Principles of Surgery" was added to outline recommended NCCN Guidelines for esophageal surgery. A similar "Principles of Surgery" page was added to the NCCN Gastric Cancer Guidelines.
Based on positive results from the Medical Research Council Adjuvant Gastric Infusional Chemotherapy (MAGIC) trial, the ECF regimen (epirubicin/cisplatin/5-FU) has been added for pre- and post-operative chemotherapy for surgically treatable and potentially curable gastric cancers. The MAGIC trial showed that patients with gastric cancer had a better 5-year survival rate, decreased tumor size and significantly improved progression-free and overall survival when ECF was used perioperatively.
The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) are available free of charge at www.nccn.org.
About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives.
The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital & Richard J. Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/University of Tennessee Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN; Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.
For more information, visit www.nccn.org.
Source: National Comprehensive Cancer Network
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