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Merkel cell carcinoma is a tumor of the skin that is well known for its metastatic potential. Because of its scarcity, no trials have been reported. Poulsen and colleagues from Australia conducted a unique multi-institutional Phase II prospective trial of concomitant chemoradiation for patients with high-risk disease and concluded that their regimen resulted in disease control and survival rates that are better than those reported in the literature.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, and, for those with advanced disease, treatment responses have been dismal. The current report of a trial of gemcitabine and oxaliplatin offers some hope. Using 2 different schedules of these agents, this study found an approximate 20% objective response rate with stable disease occurring in an additional 50%.
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Patients with elevated bilirubin treated with irinotecan have an increased risk of toxicity, and a dose reduction is recommended. Patients with elevated AST, creatinine or prior pelvic radiation do not appear to have increased sensitivity to irinotecan, but the data are not adequate to support a specific dosing recommendation.
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Ceiling lifts save backs. That is what Salina (KS) Regional Medical Center concluded, and the investment paid off.
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When patients dont show up for their appointments, the natural first step for many practices is to penalize the patient. But the problem might not lie with the patient, and if it doesnt, charging the patient a missed-appointment fee or kicking him or her off the patient roster wont improve the clinics no-show and cancellation rate.
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A predictive modeling program is just the first step in identifying members for a comprehensive disease management program, says Michael Cousins, PhD, manager of health informatics for Health Management Corp. (HMC), based in Richmond, VA.
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Great-West Healthcares disease management approach won the Denver-based company the award of best disease management program in a national PPO for 2002-2003 from the Disease Management Association of America (DMAA).
