Faculty Bibliography

Experts are stymied about why this should be. But three factors can explain part of the overall rise. One is HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, which somehow increases the risk of lymphoma. A second is the growing number of people with transplanted organs, who are at increased risk for developing lymphoma because of the immunosuppressant drugs used to prevent rejection of donated organs. A third is improved diagnostic techniques

These diseases join a list that includes, among others, AIDS, legionnaire's disease, Lyme disease, Lassa fever and bleeding and fever from the Ebola and Marburg viruses. Some were unknown or minor hazards only a decade or two ago. Others increased significantly in incidence over the last 20 years. Still others threaten to become bigger hazards in the near future. Successful surveillance hinges on the accuracy of statistical analyses, and they hinge on the accuracy of reports that doctors and hospitals are supposed to mail to local health departments about specified infections. But many diseases are notoriously underreported in the United States.One of the most astonishing discoveries in recent years is that a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, can cause ulcers and other stomach ailments including possibly some forms of stomach cancer. Last February, the bacterium's causative role for ulcers was given widespread acceptance by a government-appointed panel of experts that made antibiotics a required component of ulcer treatment. Scientists in the United States and South Africa have reported evidence linking a microbe, Chlamydia pneumoniae, to coronary artery disease. C. pneumoniae, which is also known as TAWR, is a common cause of pneumonia, bronchitis and sinusitis. The findings suggest but do not prove a link between C. pneumoniae infections and atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of heart attacks

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis returned to her apartment on Fifth Avenue last Wednesday, after doctors at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center had found that cancer had spread to her liver and had told her there was nothing more they could do for her. Aggressive therapy, including antibiotic treatment of pneumonia that she developed early that week, was halted in keeping with the wishes she had expressed in a living will, a health worker familiar with her care said. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a painless enlargement of lymph tissue that can damage the immune system and be fatal if unchecked. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is more common than Hodgkin's disease, another disease involving the lymph nodes, and it can be more difficult to treat. About 45,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed as having non-Hodgkin's lymphoma this year, and about 21,200 will die, according to the American Cancer Society. Fifty-two percent of those diagnosed will live at least five years, the society said. The lymphoma may be treated with chemotherapy, radiation or both

The type of cancer of the lymph system that [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis] had, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, is often treatable for years, and she had been reported to be responding well to treatment. As recently as Sunday, Onassis was seen walking in Central Park. But the health worker said she had been unable to walk very far and had needed to be supported by her companion, Maurice Tempelsman. Onassis' condition was diagnosed in the winter. And in recent weeks, the health care worker said, she had been receiving radiation therapy to her brain, after the cancer was found to have spread there. She had also received chemotherapy directly into the brain. The cancer elsewhere in her body had initially responded to standard chemotherapy, including steroids, the health care worker said, but more recently had spread through her body. The health worker spoke out of concern that a mistaken impression of the care Onassis had received at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center might have resulted from statements made earlier this week by Nancy Tuckerman, a spokeswoman for Onassis. Tuckerman had been quoted as saying: 'She's fine. She goes in for routine visits, routine treatment. That's what this is.'

[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis] was healthy until early December, the health care worker said, when she was in Virginia and noted a swelling in her right groin. A physician there diagnosed a swollen lymph node and, suspecting an infection, prescribed antibiotics. The swelling diminished but did not completely disappear. After the cancer was found in her brain, Onassis received radiation therapy there and to her lower spinal cord for about a month, the health care worker said. The treatment relieved her weakness, but she continued to experience pain in her neck, for which she received pain medications. During this time she was receiving her care at home and as a hospital out-patient. (from graph) Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis suffered from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. Some facts on the disease, which typically strikes people over 50:

The health worker, who asked not to be identified, spoke out of concern that a mistaken impression of the care Mrs. Onassis had received at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center might have resulted from statements made earlier this week by Nancy Tuckerman, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Onassis. Ms. Tuckerman had been quoted as saying: 'She's fine. She goes in for routine visits, routine treatment. That's what this is.' In an interview yesterday, Ms. Tuckerman acknowledged that she had understated the severity of Mrs. Onassis's condition on Monday and Tuesday. 'We were trying to low-key this whole thing,' she said, because 'we really feel her medical situation is private and we did not feel we have to reveal everything to reporters.' A biopsy of one of the neck nodes showed that Mrs. Onassis had non-Hodgkins lymphoma. A pathologist noted that the cells were anaplastic -- that is, they were undeveloped, what doctors call 'embryonic' or 'primitive,' indicating that the disease was highly malignant

[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]' condition was diagnosed in February, and in recent weeks, a health-care worker familiar with her case said she had been receiving radiation therapy to her brain, after the cancer was found to have spread there. She was also receiving chemotherapy directly into the brain. The health worker, who asked not to be identified, spoke out of concern that a mistaken impression of the care Onassis had received at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center might have resulted from statements made earlier this week by Nancy Tuckerman, a spokeswoman for Onassis. Tuckerman was quoted as saying: 'She's fine. She goes in for routine visits, routine treatment.' Hours before Onassis died Thursday, Tuckerman acknowledged that she had understated the severity of the situation but did so in order to respect the privacy of Onassis and her family

The type of cancer of the lymph system that Mrs. [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis] had, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, is often treatable for years, and she had been reported to be responding well to treatment. As recently as Sunday, Mrs. Onassis was seen walking in Central Park. But the health worker familiar with her her care said she was unable to walk very far and needed to be supported by her companion, Maurice Tempelsman. Her condition was diagnosed in the winter, and in recent weeks, the health care worker said, she had been receiving radiation therapy to her brain, after the cancer was found to have spread there. She was also receiving chemotherapy directly into the brain. The cancer elsewhere in the body had initially responded to standard chemotherapy, including steroids, the health care worker said, but more recently had been found to have spread through her body. The health worker spoke out of concern that a mistaken impression of the care Mrs. Onassis had received at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center might have resulted from statements made earlier this week by Nancy Tuckerman, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Onassis. Tuckerman was quoted as saying: 'She's fine. She goes in for routine visits, routine treatment. That's what this is.'

The type of cancer of the lymph system that [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis] had, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is often treatable for years, and she had been reported to be responding well to treatment. As recently as Sunday, Onassis was seen walking in Central Park. But she was unable to walk very far and needed to be supported by her companion, Maurice Tempelsman. Onassis's condition was diagnosed in the winter, and in recent weeks, the health care worker said, she had been receiving radiation therapy to her brain, after the cancer was found to have spread there. She also was receiving chemotherapy directly into the brain. Initially, the cancer elsewhere in the body had responded to standard chemotherapy, including steroids, the health care worker said. But more recently, it had been found to have spread through her body. The health worker, who asked not to be identified, spoke out of concern that a mistaken impression of the care Onassis had received at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center might have resulted from statements made earlier this week by Nancy Tuckerman, a spokeswoman for Onassis. Tuckerman was quoted as saying: 'She's fine. She goes in for routine visits, routine treatment. That's what this is.'

Bernard Fisher, who was forced to resign from the breast cancer study he coordinated for three decades, received standing ovations when he spoke before his peers at a Dallas meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, of which he is immediate past president. However, on May 18, 1994, Fisher was accused by an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine of failing to live up to his responsibilities as chief investigator of the study