WORLD'S ONCOLOGISTS GATHER TO DISCUSS NEW TREATMENTS.Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer Coming two weeks after announcements about remarkable new cancer-fighting drugs, medical specialists gathered in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. from all over the world plan to discuss more new treatments today for battling the deadly disease. The oncologists who came together at the international conference in Los Angeles are set to discuss novel approaches to killing cancer cells cells once believed to be peculiar to cancers, but now know to be epithelial cells differing in no respect from those found elsewhere in the body, and distinguished only by peculiarity of location and grouping. See also: Cancer , while leaving healthy cells intact. Lynn M. Schuchter, a spokeswoman for the American Society of Clinical Oncology American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, is an organization that represents all clinical oncologists. Every year, ASCO holds a large symposium where physicians and researchers meet to convey and discuss research and ideas. , which is sponsoring the gathering, said Sunday that the discoveries represent the payoff of many years of study. ``Research has increased a basic understanding about what makes a cancer cell different from a regular cell,'' said Schuchter, a doctor from the University of Pennsylvania (body, education) University of Pennsylvania - The home of ENIAC and Machiavelli. http://upenn.edu/. Address: Philadelphia, PA, USA. Cancer Center. ``These whole new approaches are very exciting.'' One new therapy to be discussed today involves introducing a so-called ``cancer vaccine'' into the body. ``It's like revving up the immunity system,'' Schuchter said. She said the ``vaccine'' helps make the body's own immunity system better recognize cancer cells and eradicate them. Another approach involves introducing a ``suicide'' gene that makes a cancer cell more responsive to chemotherapy. Nearly 19,000 cancer specialists are expected at the four-day conference that began Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. . Oncologists plan to present more than 2,000 new studies dealing with nearly every area of research into the disease, which is the second leading cause of death in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , after heart disease. About half of all people with cancer die from the disease, so the American Society of Clinical Oncology has devoted much study to caring for the terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. . But since revelations about two weeks ago on two new treatments that have caused cancerous tumors to disappear in mice, oncologists will also be focusing on novel treatments. One new approach discussed Sunday calls for using a drug called Herceptin, which has been known to stop the spread of tumors and even shrink them in breast cancer patients. ``It shows that another therapy, other than just chemotherapy, has an effect,'' Schuchter said. ``It opens up a whole new horizon.'' |
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