A Schering-Plough Corp drug to reverse the effects of anesthesia appears to be safe, U.S. regulatory staff said, but they questioned how the company defined effectiveness in a key study. Reuters Health Information
Read the latest from SABCS 2007 about refinements in radiation therapy and prognostic/predictive tools for patients with early breast cancer. Medscape Hematology-Oncology
Capnography is more sensitive than pulse oximetry and periodic respiration rate assessment in monitoring respiratory function in postsurgical patients treated with opioids, according to a prospective trial reported in the American Journal of Nursing for February. Reuters Health Information
A short-term presurgical trial of erlotinib (Tarceva) in patients with stage 1 to IIIA breast cancer may predict which patients will respond to erlotinib treatment after tumor resection. Reuters Health Information
The updated guidelines add intensity-modulated radiotherapy, which is particularly effective for delivering high doses, to the existing option of using 3D conformal radiotherapy. Medscape Medical News
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) recurs in about half of children who undergo adenotonsillectomy to treat the condition, according to a small prospective study reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine for March 15. Reuters Health Information
Cardiac allografts with mild or moderate left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) can be safely transplanted without impairing survival, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology for March 25. This is important because increased usage of hypertrophied hearts could expand the donor pool. Reuters Health Information
Hypothalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) may relieve chronic cluster headache refractory to other medical therapies, researchers report in the March issue of Cephalalgia. Reuters Health Information
Sentinel node dissection appears to be a safe approach in women with early-stage vulvar cancer, according to a report in the February 20th issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Reuters Health Information
