Cancer Decisions - Free Newsletter

HERE AT THE MOSS REPORTS

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month issued a safety warning letter to healthcare professionals concerning the targeted drug Avastin (bevacizumab). The drug, which has so far only been approved for the treatment of advanced colorectal and non-small cell lung cancer, is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of a number of other cancers, including small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which is far less common than the non-small cell type.

The safety warning was issued after serious complications came to light during a phase II trial of Avastin in patients with SCLC. Among the first 29 patients enrolled in this trial, two patients developed a condition called tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) – a perforation of the walls of the esophagus and trachea leading to an abnormal connection between the two. One of these two patients died. A third patient suffered a fatal hemorrhage which was strongly suspected also to have resulted from TEF.

That Avastin is associated with the potential for catastrophic organ perforations and fistula formation has been known for some time. According to Genentech, six other cases of TEF have been reported from clinical trials involving patients with lung cancer and esophageal cancer. Perforations and fistula formation have also been seen in significant numbers among patients treated with Avastin for various abdominal cancers. In one clinical trial involving women with ovarian cancer, for example, almost 10 percent of the participants developed gastrointestinal perforations (Wright 2006).

TRACKING NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Constantly monitoring the scientific literature pertaining to treatment and prevention of cancer is an essential part of my work. By keeping a watchful eye on the medical journals I am able to discern emerging research and treatment ideas and pass along to my readers the latest developments, including safety issues such as those surrounding Avastin (on which I have written an in-depth report in our Current Topics series – see below). It also enables me to keep the library of Moss Reports on more than 200 different cancer diagnoses updated.

Each Moss Report offers an even-handed and thorough analysis of the available conventional and alternative treatments for a particular kind of cancer. The reports also discuss such topics as clinical trials, how to change one's diet in order to maximize one's chances of recovery, and how to recognize and avoid unsafe or worthless remedies. If you would like to order a Moss Report for yourself or someone you love, you can do so from our website, www.cancerdecisions.com, or by calling 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367 from outside the US).

I also offer phone consultations to clients who have purchased a Moss Report on their particular cancer type. A phone consultation can be enormously helpful in drawing up an effective treatment strategy and getting one's options clearly prioritized. A recent Moss Report client expressed his appreciation this way:

"The phone consultation was extremely helpful and reassuring. The consultation allowed Dr. Moss to provide more focused information on my unique situation. It was most valuable to discuss my own thoughts about treatments, new therapies, diet, etc. with someone who not only stays current, but has thoughtfully processed the myriad of information and data, and is able to bring it to bear on my particular situation. I received several suggestions for complementary and medical options that I intend to pursue." - R.H.

To schedule an appointment, please call 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367 from outside the US) or send an email to Jacquie@cancerdecisions.com.

We look forward to helping you.

CURRENT TOPICS

We continue to add new reports to our Current Topics series on important aspects of cancer treatment and prevention. These reports can be purchased for $9.95 each and downloaded directly from our Web site, www.cancerdecisions.com.

Avastin: Your Money Or Your Life. (A clear-eyed look at the targeted drug Avastin)
On Guard - Gardasil (A critical evaluation of the new cervical cancer vaccine)
Mammography, Biopsy and the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
Herceptin or Deceptin? (An evaluation of the use of the targeted drug Herceptin in breast cancer)
Do Antioxidants and Chemotherapy Conflict?
The Politics of Hope: Andrew von Eschenbach and the Decline of the National Cancer Institute
The Mexican Cancer Clinics in the Era of Evidence-Based Medicine

AUDIO NEWSLETTER

To hear the audio version of the newsletter, please click or go to:
http://www.cancerdecisions.com/audio/CD042907.mp3

SUSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST

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http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=215899747

If you do not have iTunes, you may also access our feed at:
http://www.cancerdecisions.com/mossreports.rss

CHANGES TO OUR WEBSITE: ARCHIVE CENTER EXPANDS

We have been working on changes to our Web site, and over the next few months we will be introducing you to some of these. They will improve your ability to access information on cancer and to purchase and download reports from the site.

First, let me direct your attention to our growing archives. You can access these by clicking on the "Archives Center" button in the left hand side of the home page of our cancerdecisions.com Web site. This in turn will give you access to the following:

Over 250 of our archived print newsletters, dating back to August, 2001. These are filled with a wealth of information on cancer treatment, prevention and detection;

An archive of videos - mainly TV shows that I have been on since my appearance on "60 Minutes" in 1980;

Our archived audio podcasts;

A growing archive of print materials, such as newspaper articles, lectures and papers.

For now, however, I want to call your attention to our audio archive. Like the video archive, the audio archive offers a glimpse into my career. As I scoured my files I came up with some very interesting shows that have now been digitized and saved.

The audio archive starts with my speech to the National Health Federation convention in Los Angeles in January 1978. This is a 30-minute speech, followed by 15 minutes of questions. From time to time people still write to me, asking about the nature of my departure from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1977. So here is a nearly contemporaneous account of those events, with many first-hand observations on the testing of the controversial cancer treatment, Laetrile.

Next is a 30-minute speech to the 1980 meeting of the Cancer Control Society in Los Angeles. It was delivered soon after publication of my first book, The Cancer Syndrome (still in print as The Cancer Industry), and it contains some interesting autobiographical material not found in other speeches. There is also a discussion of the American Cancer Society's promotion of interferon at that time and how it contrasted with the suppression of non-conventional treatments.

The third item is an impassioned 8-minute speech in which I critique the draft of the Office of Technology Assessment's report, Unconventional Cancer Treatments. The report had been requested by the US House of Representatives, but the staff had produced a very one-sided assessment. Vigorous opposition from a dozen speakers blocked their attempted cover-up. The final report laid the groundwork for the formation of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the NIH. (Note: This tape recording was made by someone in the audience and the sound quality leaves something to be desired. But it does improve a bit as it progresses.)

Next is a 50-minute conversation with Steve Palmer of the wonderful Diane Rehm Show on Washington, DC's NPR station WAMU-FM. The date was May, 1990. This is an exceptionally intelligent questioning about my book The Cancer Industry, with call-ins.

Next comes a 14-minute interview that took place on July 1, 1990 for Dr. Allen Magaziner's "Health Line" radio show (Philadelphia). The subject was the recent revision of my book, The Cancer Industry. Dr. Magaziner, an osteopath, is past president of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM)

From January 1993 there is a 30-minute excerpt from my appearance on Robert Atkins' radio show "Your Health Choices" on WOR-TV, one of about a dozen appearances that I made on Atkins' show during the 1990s. The main topic is cancer therapy, but the show captures the late Dr. Atkins' exuberant style. It reminds me of how much I miss his enthusiasm and support.

In addition, there is part of my presentation to the NNFA at its July, 1993 convention held at the Las Vegas Hilton. (NNFA is now the Natural Products Association.) Two 30-minute sections primarily deal with how I came to write my book, Cancer Therapy, and with broader issues of how the cancer establishment actually operates. I also talk about the situation in the early days of the NIH's Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), precursor of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (30 minutes).

From December 1994 comes a 38-minute interview with Deborah Ray on "Here's to Your Health!" - one of many interviews I have given on this nationally syndicated call-in radio show. The subject was primarily treatments discussed in my book Cancer Therapy.

There is also a 24-minute conversation with Ron Hoffman, MD, recorded on Nov. 29, 2001 on the nationally syndicated "Health Talk" radio show. The subject was hyperthermia and other "hot" cancer treatments.

I also include links to two of last year's radio shows, "Take Note Radio," from April 2006, in which the host Patty Satalia interviewed me as well as Dr. Eugene Lengerich of the Penn State Cancer Institute, on WPSU-FM, Penn State's Public Broadcasting station.

And finally, Graham B. Spanier, PhD, the President of Penn State University, interviewed me for his program, "To the Best of My Knowledge," in May 2006. The other guest was Thomas P. Laughren, MD, the Director of the Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, PA, on WPSU-FM, Penn State's Public Broadcasting station. (This is the audio portion of a TV interview.)

It was a great pleasure for me to review these shows - a few of the 400-plus programs that I have performed over the years - and also to dig them out of dusty filing cabinets and bookshelves and preserve them on the Internet. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoyed reviewing them.

In future editions of this newsletter I will introduce you to our print archives, which will have some very important documents on the long struggle to validate and scientifically test non-conventional cancer treatments.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

References:

Wright JD, Hagemann A, Rader JS, et al. Bevacizumab combination therapy in recurrent, platinum-refractory, epithelial ovarian carcinoma: A retrospective analysis. Cancer 2006;107(1):83-9.

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

The news and other items in this newsletter are intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.