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The problem has increased significantly in recent years following wider use of drugs for common cancers. A partial list includes tamoxifen and taxol for breast cancer, adriamycin for cancer of the lymph system and 5-fluorouracil for colon cancer. But with expanding use, there has been scarce discussion of the safety and effectiveness of such drugs in patients older than 65, who account for more than half the total number of cancer cases in this country each year, said Dr. Frank Haluska, a cancer expert at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He moderated a news conference at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which ended here today. Now oncologists are belatedly recognizing that they have included too few older cancer patients in the clinical trials that they conduct to determine the most effective therapies for all cancer patients

LOS ANGELES - Tens of thousands of American women with breast cancer are losing a breast unnecessarily each year because their doctors do not follow national guidelines in treating the breast cancer, the first comprehensive study of current practices shows. About 65 percent, or 117,000, of the 180,000 breast cancers diagnosed among American women each year are classified as early stage (1 and 2). Of these, three-fourths are eligible for breast- conserving therapy, which involves removing the cancer in a procedure known as a lumpectomy, followed by radiation therapy

Tens of thousands of American women with breast cancer are losing a breast unnecessarily each year because their doctors do not follow national guidelines in treating the breast cancer, the first comprehensive study of current practices shows. About 65 percent, or 117,000, of the 180,000 breast cancers diagnosed among American women each year, are classified as early stage (1 and 2). Of these, three-fourths are eligible for breast conserving therapy, which involves removing the cancer in a surgical procedure known as a lumpectomy, followed by radiation therapy. Also, national guidelines published in 1992 state that doctors should not use age, prognosis and tumor type as criteria in choosing mastectomy over breast conservation therapy. The guidelines also list four absolute reasons not to perform such conservation therapy. They are multiple tumors in the same breast, a history of prior irradiation therapy to the breast region, first or second trimester pregnancy and diffuse areas of calcifications on X-rays

The first full-scale trials of an experimental drug that attacks a genetic defect in breast cancer cells show significant promise for women with advanced cancer, scientists reported Sunday in Los Angeles. The drug, Herceptin, heightened the benefits of chemotherapy by shrinking tumors and slowing progression of a particular type of breast cancer, one that is responsible for about 30 percent of the 180,000 new cases of the disease in the United States each year, the scientists said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology at the downtown Convention Center. Participants at the meeting greeted the reports with cautious optimism, and leaders said they were now planning to test the drug, which was developed by Genentech of South San Francisco, among patients with less advanced forms of the breast cancer and among the 20 percent of ovarian cancer cases involving the same genetic defect

LOS ANGELES - The first full-scale trials of an experimental drug that attacks a genetic defect in breast cancer cells show significant promise for women with advanced cancer, scientists said Sunday. The drug, Herceptin, heightened the benefits of chemotherapy by shrinking tumors and slowing progression of a particular type of breast cancer, one that is responsible for about 30 percent of the 180,000 new cases of the disease in the United States each year, the scientists said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology

The first full-scale trials of an experimental drug that homes in on a genetic defect in breast cancer cells show significant promise for women with advanced cancer, scientists reported today. The drug, Herceptin, heightened the benefits of chemotherapy by shrinking tumors and slowing progression of a particular type of breast cancer, one that is responsible for about 30 percent of the 180,000 new cases of the disease in the United States each year, the scientists said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology here. Herceptin is a protein known as a monoclonal antibody that was genetically engineered to bind to other specific proteins. The preliminary success with Herceptin and another monoclonal antibody for lymphoma was expected to revive interest in developing such compounds, a research avenue that scientists abandoned a decade ago because of lack of success

The first full-scale trials of an experimental drug that attacks a genetic defect in breast cancer cells show significant promise for women with advanced cancer, scientists reported Sunday. The drug, Herceptin, heightened the benefits of chemotherapy by shrinking tumors and slowing progression of a particular type of breast cancer, one that is responsible for about 30 percent of the 180,000 new cases of the disease in the United States each year, the scientists said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Los Angeles. Participants at the meeting greeted the reports with cautious optimism, and leaders said they are planning to test the drug, which was developed by Genentech of south San Francisco, among patients with less advanced forms of the breast cancer and among the 20 percent of ovarian cancer cases involving the same genetic defect

The breast cancer drug tamoxifen significantly reduces the rates of recurrence and death from the disease among a surprisingly wide range of women but is being prescribed to far too few patients, researchers reported Thursday in the world's largest analysis of any cancer treatment. Contrary to what many doctors had thought, tamoxifen benefits breast cancer patients of all ages, not just those who have gone through menopause, and is effective whether the cancer was confined to the breast or had spread to lymph nodes in the arm pit, the study found. Tamoxifen also is effective whether the cancer was removed surgically in a lumpectomy or mastectomy, treated with radiation or chemotherapy drugs. Tamoxifen also halves the incidence of new cancers in the breast opposite the site of the first cancer

Contrary to what many doctors had thought, tamoxifen benefits breast cancer patients of all ages, not just those who have gone through menopause, and is effective whether the cancer was confined to the breast or had spread to lymph nodes in the arm pit, the study found. Tamoxifen is also effective whether the cancer was removed surgically in a lumpectomy or mastectomy or treated with radiation or chemotherapy drugs. Tamoxifen also halves the incidence of new cancers in the other breast from the site of the first cancer. But too few women with breast cancer are taking tamoxifen, the Oxford team said. More widespread use of tamoxifen would save 20,000 lives a year, particularly among pre-menopausal women. That would double the 20,000 now saved among the one million women who take it for breast cancer worldwide, the authors said. The analysis focused only on tamoxifen use as a treatment among women who had developed breast cancer and did not concern its use to prevent development of breast cancer. A recently reported study found that tamoxifen reduced the incidence of breast cancer by 45 percent among women considered at high risk for the disease compared to those who took a placebo. Two additional studies suggest that a related drug, raloxifene, can also prevent breast cancer without raising the risk of uterine cancer, a side effect of tamoxifen

The anti-breast cancer drug tamoxifen significantly reduces the rates of recurrence and death from the disease among a surprisingly wide range of women but is being prescribed to far too few patients, researchers reported Thursday in the world's largest analysis of any cancer treatment. The statistical analysis shows that for women with the most common, hormone-sensitive type of breast cancer, a five-year course of tamoxifen prevents 1 in 6 from developing a recurrence and 1 in 12 from dying over the next decade. The analysis adds to increasingly positive news about tamoxifen, which last month was shown to prevent breast cancer in women at high risk for the disease. The study reported Thursday focuses on treatment of women who already have had breast cancer