Healthcare Industry News: National Comprehensive Cancer Network
News Release - June 20, 2007
NCCN Updates Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Guidelines
JENKINTOWN, Pa.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announces updates to the NCCN Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) Guidelines. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) 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.The NHL Panel added new guidelines for peripheral T-Cell lymphomas, a group of aggressive Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas that begin in mature T lymphocytes (T cells that have matured in the thymus gland and gone to other lymphatic sites in the body, including the lymph nodes, bone marrow and spleen).
The Panel also added new guidelines for Mycosis Fungoides/Sezary Syndrome (otherwise known as Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (CTCL)), a disease in which certain cells of the lymph system (called T lymphocytes) become malignant and affect the skin. These guidelines include the use of recently FDA-approved vorinostat (Zolinza(TM), Merck) for the treatment of CTCL to be used when the disease persists, gets worse, or recurs during or after treatment with other medicines.
Testing for Hepatitis B has been added as "essential" to the work-up of all B-Cell Lymphomas because one of the drugs commonly used to treat them (Rituxan®, Genentech) can cause a dangerous interaction in Hepatitis B patients.
For certain patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma, alemtuzumab (Campath®, Genzyme) was added as a first-line therapy option. For Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma patients, the GDP regimen (gemcitabine (Gemzar®, Lilly), dexamethasone, cisplatin +/- rituximab) was added as a second-line therapy option.
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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