– August 1, 2010
August 1, 2010
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Hairy Cell Leukemia
A 51-year-old man was brought to the emergency department with severe abdominal pain and hypotension. He had no known chronic medical disease but for the past few months had experienced a loss of appetite, weakness, and fatigue. Despite these symptoms, he had not missed work (electrical engineer). Over the six months, his weight had fallen from 190 to 175 pounds. He did not recall night sweats or fever, but did mention that he experienced a loss of appetite and occasional nausea. On two occasions during the prior week, he vomited. -
Novel Therapies for Malignant Melanoma: A New Generation of High-affinity, Selective BRAF Inhibitors
Approximately 60% of human melanomas express a mutant form of the serine/threonine kinase BRAF, in which substitution of glutamic acid for valine at amino acid 600 (V600E) leads to the RAS-independent activation of the BRAF kinase. -
The Saga of Fruit/Vegetable Consumption and Cancer Risk
In an analysis of a European cohort of approximately 400,000 individuals, among whom 30,000 cancers developed over nine years of follow-up, a very small inverse association between intake of total fruits and vegetables and cancer risk was observed. -
Gemcitabine-Capecitabine for Advanced Breast Cancer: Impressive Phase II Results
In a phase II trial of capecitabine and gemcitabine for patients who had previously received an anthracycline for either as an adjuvant or for metastatic disease, overall response rate was 55% and the median time to progression was 11 months. These results were somewhat better for patients who were being treated for the first time for advanced disease (i.e., for recurrence after adjuvant therapy) when compared to those who were receiving the drugs as second line. -
Clinical Briefs in Primary Care Supplement
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Pharmacology Watch
Aggressive approach to CVD reduces MI, folic acid and vitamin B12 for CAD, corticosteroids for acute exacerbations of COPD, prescription drug abuse among young adults, and ARBs and cancer risk.