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Hijacked Plane Targeted Nuke Complex 29 years ago
Index:
Hijacked Plane Targeted Nuke Complex 29 years ago
Pentagon recommends use of nuclear weapons in retaliation
Romanian nuke plant resumes output after stoppage
US senator queries General Dynamics' Newport bid
Lithuania says EU talks hinge on power station
Proxima Therapeutics' Radiation Therapy System for Brain tumors
IAEA opens, expected to adopt resolution to inspect N. Korea
U.S. calls for more vigilance on nuclear exports
Swedish Medical Center Adds High-Tech Heart Scanner
Lymphoma treatments expected to broaden
======================================
Hijacked Plane Targeted Nuke Complex 29 years ago
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) - Twenty-nine years ago, hijackers took over an
airliner with 27 passengers and four crew aboard and threatened to
crash into the government's nuclear weapons production complex in Oak
Ridge.
``They let us know that if we didn't have the money by X hour then we
were going to dive into Oak Ridge,'' co-pilot Harold Johnson recalled
in an interview last week from his Memphis home. ``And there was no
doubt in my mind that we would have done just that.''
Johnson would be threatened with his life and shot in the arm before
the 32-hour ordeal finally ended Nov. 12, 1972, in Havana.
Airline hijackings to Cuba were common in those days. The
commandeering of the Southern Airways DC9 with its '70ish smiley face
on the nose was one of about 30 hijackings that year.
But this was one of the few times in American aviation history -
before last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon - in which hijackers threatened to use an airplane as a
weapon.
Johnson, who retired in 1983, said domestic security measures were
increased after his flight. But he said the government didn't go far
enough.
``For a long, long time, it was something that I thought could happen
someday, but had just hoped and prayed that it never would,'' he
said.
Unlike the recent hijackers, the three Americans who took control of
Johnson's Memphis-to-Miami-flight had little training and virtually
no plan. They did have guns, a hand grenade and a grudge against
Detroit, where two of them had been charged with rape.
Hijacker Melvin Cale grew up in nearby Knoxville and worked in Oak
Ridge before moving to Detroit with his half brother Louis Moore,
another hijacker. Henry Jackson of Detroit completed the trio.
They commandeered the plane about 10 minutes after a stopover in
Birmingham, Ala., crashing through the cockpit door with an arm
around a flight attendant's throat and a gun to her head.
They wanted a $10 million ransom, 10 parachutes and 10 bulletproof
vests. The plane eventually reached Knoxville and began circling Oak
Ridge, site of the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and their specific
target - a nuclear research reactor at the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory.
``It was surreal in a sense,'' said Jim Alexander, a former
government spokesman at Oak Ridge. ``We would look up in the sky and
see this jet airliner circling. It was high, but it never left.''
In his book, ``Odyssey of Terror,'' the plane's captain, William
Haas, wrote that the hijackers became enraged when their demands
received a lukewarm response. They forced Haas to begin a steep
descent on Oak Ridge, pulling out only when the airline said it would
comply.
Johnson, however, said the plane never got below 8,000 to 10,000 feet
and that was only so the hijackers could identify Oak Ridge.
The airline finally came up with $2 million for the hijackers, who
then forced the pilots to fly to Havana. They shot Johnson in the arm
during a shootout with FBI agents when the plane stopped to refuel in
Orlando, Fla.
The hijackers were arrested in Cuba and imprisoned for eight years.
The trio returned in 1980 to Birmingham, where they were sentenced to
20- to 25-year terms.
Haas retired in 1988 and died earlier this year. His widow said he
never would have crashed the DC9 into Oak Ridge.
``There is not a pilot in the United States that flies commercially
that would do anything like that,'' Ann Haas said. ``He might make
the hijackers think that was what he was going to do, but never,
never would they use it as a target.''
-----------------
Pentagon recommends use of nuclear weapons in retaliation
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (Kyodo) - The Defense Department has recommended
to President George W. Bush the use of tactical nuclear weapons as a
military option to retaliate for last week's terrorist attacks in the
United States, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
It is unknown whether Bush has made any decision. But military
analysts said the president is unlikely to opt for the use of nuclear
weapons because doing so would generate rebuke from the international
community and could even trigger revenge from the enemy involving
weapons of mass destruction.
But the Pentagon's suggestion shows the determination of U.S.
officials to retaliate for the first massive terrorist attacks on the
U.S. mainland, the analysts said.
The recommendation appears intended to deter terrorists, they said.
On ABC television's THIS WEEK program Sunday, Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld refused to rule out the use of tactical nuclear
weapons. He avoided clearly answering a simple question on whether
their use can be ruled out. To a similar question, a Pentagon
official also replied, ''We will not discuss operational and
intelligence matters.''
According to the diplomatic sources, the Pentagon recommended using
tactical nuclear weapons shortly after it became known that an
unprecedented number of civilian casualties resulted from the
terrorist attacks.
On Sept. 11, hijackers seized four commercial U.S. aircraft. Two of
the planes slammed into the twin towers of New York's World Trade
Center, while a third hit the Pentagon near Washington. The fourth
plane crashed outside Pittsburgh. More than 5,000 people were left
dead or missing in the attacks.
Tactical nuclear weapons have been developed to attack very specific
targets. The military analysts said Pentagon officials are apparently
thinking of using weapons that can reach and destroy terrorists
hiding in an underground shelter, limiting damage to non-targets.
In 1986, the U.S. conducted an air raid on Libya, attempting to
target Col. Muammar Qaddafi. In 1998, Washington fired a cruise
missile into Afghanistan in an attempt to kill Osama bin Laden, whom
the U.S. sees as behind last week's terrorist attacks.
The analysts said that since these attempts failed, it may be assumed
that U.S. officials are mulling the use of tactical nuclear weapons,
which can cause much greater destruction.
Declassified official documents show that since the mid-1990s, the
U.S. has indicated that it does not rule out the use of nuclear
weapons if a country attacks the U.S., its allies, or its forces with
chemical or biological weapons.
-------------------
Romanian nuke plant resumes output after stoppage
BUCHAREST, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Romania's sole nuclear reactor, in
Cernavoda on the River Danube, resumed activity late on Tuesday after
it was shut down earlier this week due to a water cooling system
glitch, officials said on Wednesday.
"The plant was re-connected to the national grid late on Tuesday," a
company official said by telephone. "The glitch was resolved, with
the plant working now at about 80 percent of its capacity and likely
to reach full capacity on Thursday."
On Tuesday officials said the glitch, which posed no nuclear risks,
occured as waste from Danube waters had entered into the nuke's
cooling system.
The 750-megawatt plant already underwent the annual check and
maintenance works for this year. Cernavoda accounts for about 10
percent of Romania's total power generation.
------------------
US senator queries General Dynamics' Newport bid
WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The senior U.S. senator from
Mississippi questioned the cost-savings predicted by General Dynamics
Corp. <GD.N> in its $2.1 billion cash offer for warship builder
Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. <NNS.N> in a letter to U.S. defense
officials made public Tuesday.
Sen. Thad Cochran, a Republican, said it seemed "illogical" that the
Pentagon would support General Dynamics' bid since it would "create a
monopoly in both nuclear and conventional shipbuilding," while a
hostile bid for Newport by Northrop Grumman Corp. <NOC.N> would not.
Los Angeles-based Northrop, which has a large shipyard in
Mississippi, in May launched a hostile takeover bid for Newport News,
which makes nuclear-fueled aircraft carriers.
Citing reports that the Pentagon was favorably inclined toward
General Dynamics' bid, Cochran asked U.S. Defense Undersecretary Pete
Aldridge to explain what assurances General Dynamics had given that
the Newport News merger could generate the projected $2 billion in
savings over a 10-year period.
"It would be an abdication of responsiblity to base approval of a
monopoly on projected savings which cannot be credibly expected and
verified," Cochran said in a letter to Aldridge that was dated
Monday.
Cochran said closing shipyards and mass layoffs were "not acceptable
methods of achieving cost savings under antitrust guidelines, and if
permitted, would only further damage our nation's shipbuilding
capability."
He said other potential cost-saving measures, such as moving nuclear
warship repairs or submarine production to other cities, would be
difficult to implement because of political and economic realities.
Cochran urged the Pentagon to address these concerns, noting that the
General Dynamics-Newport merger -- if approved -- would create "an
irreversible monopoly and have significant impacts on the long-term
competitiveness of U.S. naval shipbuilding."
The Wall Street Journal last month reported that an internal Pentagon
review had found a General Dynamics-Newport merger could save the
U.S. Navy $3 billion to $4 billion over the next 10 years.
It said Pentagon officials had made a preliminary evaluation that
such savings outweighed concerns about loss of competition between
the Navy's only two submarine builders.
Pentagon officials have been tight-lipped about the merger and have
not confirmed the Journal report.
General Dynamics on Monday extended its offer for Newport through
Sept. 21 from its earlier expiration date of Sept. 14.
Falls Church, Virginia-based General Dynamics said around 15.9
million shares of Newport News had been tendered and not withdrawn as
of the close of business Friday, down from 22.5 million as of the
prior expiration date on Aug. 31. It attributed the drop to
disruptions in the financial markets caused by the Sept. 11 air
attacks on the U.S.
-------------------
Lithuania says EU talks hinge on power station
VILNIUS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Lithuania's prime minister said on
Tuesday the country's Chernobyl-style nuclear plant was a key
stumbling block to its goal of joining the European Union in 2004.
But Algirdas Brazauskas told reporters EU Enlargement Commissioner
Guenter Verheugen had given accession work in other areas a positive
assessment.
"No doubt the conclusion of EU membership negotiations is related to
Lithuania's commitment to close the Ignalina nuclear power plant...
We'll have to do that by the end of this year," Brazauskas said after
meeting Verheugen.
"I was also pleased to hear that it's absolutely realistic that
Lithuania could become an EU member in 2004," he said.
Under EU pressure, Lithuania agreed to close the first of Ignalina's
two reactors before 2005 but Brussels has made clear the timing of
the second reactor's closure must be set before entry talks can be
completed.
Lithuania wants the EU to help fund closing the plant.
"We were pleased today to hear, probably for the first time, that the
closure of both blocks of Lithuania's reactor is not only Lithuania's
problem, but a problem of the whole European Union," Brazauskas said.
The EU considers Ignalina a danger because it was built to the same
design as Ukraine's Chernobyl -- site of the world's worst civilian
nuclear disaster in 1986 -- but its closure is sensitive since it
provides most of Lithuania's electricity.
------------------
Proxima Therapeutics' GliaSite(R) Radiation Therapy System for Brain
Tumors Receives Certificate for Inclusion in U.S. NRC Sealed Source
and Device Registry
ALPHARETTA, Ga., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Proxima Therapeutics, Inc.,
a privately held developer and maker of accelerated cancer treatments
using internal radiation therapy, announced today that the State of
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued a sealed
source and device registration certificate for the company's GliaSite
RTS internal radiation treatment for brain tumors. Proxima received
U.S. Food & Drug Administration clearance for the GliaSite device
earlier this year.
"Because the GliaSite treatment incorporates a proprietary radiation
source, many treatment centers must amend their nuclear materials
license in order to use the product," said James Stubbs, Ph.D., vice
president, scientific affairs. "This certificate is an important
step for Proxima that clears the way for broader distribution of the
GliaSite to hospitals throughout the United States."
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Sealed Source and Device
Registry contains the results of safety evaluations performed by the
NRC and state agencies responsible for radiation safety and
radioactive material licensing. The certificate issued for the
GliaSite is based on a safety evaluation performed by the State of
Georgia DNR.
The GliaSite RTS delivers site-specific, internal radiation, treating
the target area while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue. The
device is a balloon catheter that is inserted into the cavity created
by surgical removal of the malignant brain tumor and filled with
Iotrex(TM), a proprietary liquid radiation source. Over a course of
three to seven days, GliaSite delivers radiation directly to the
tissue surrounding the cavity, where the tumors are most likely to
recur.
GliaSite is currently available at many cancer centers throughout the
country, including Wake Forest University, Johns Hopkins University,
Medical College of Virginia, Emory University, Stanford University,
University of Pennsylvania and University of Iowa.
Based in Alpharetta, Ga., Proxima Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately
held medical device company established in 1995 to develop site-
specific cancer treatment systems for breast and brain tumors.
Products include GliaSite(R) RTS for brain cancer, which was recently
cleared for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and
MammoSite(TM) RTS for early-stage breast cancer, which is awaiting
FDA clearance. Additional information is available on the company's
web site at www.proximatherapeutics.com .
------------------
IAEA opens, expected to adopt resolution to inspect N. Korea
VIENNA, Sept. 17 (Kyodo) - The International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) opened its annual conference on Monday, with IAEA Director
General Mohamed ElBaradei requesting that North Korea cooperate with
on-site inspections of nuclear facilities.
ElBaradei made the request in an opening speech before government
representatives of 132 member states.
In a message to the IAEA, U.S. President George W. Bush urged the
agency to step up the control of all nuclear materials and ensure
that they would not end up in the hands of terrorists.
ElBaradei said the IAEA is continuing to monitor the freeze on
facilities in North Korea under a 1994 agreement between the United
States and North Korea, but that the agency is unable to verify the
accuracy of North Korea's nuclear program.
The IAEA conference, slated to run through Friday, is expected to
adopt a resolution urging North Korea to accept the inspection.
Koji Omi, Japan's state minister on science and technology policy,
also urged in a speech that North Korea cooperate in the inspection
and to mend ties with the IAEA.
''From the perspective of security in Northeast Asia, the agency's
role in the context of suspended nuclear weapons development by North
Korea is a grave one,'' he said.
''I urge North Korea to improve its relationship with the agency and
to comply with its obligation under the safeguard agreement promptly
and completely,'' Omi said.
Under the 1994 agreement, North Korea is supposed to be subjected to
an inspection before the main body of the first of two light-water
reactors to be built by a U.S.-led international consortium is put in
place.
North Korea has refused an inspection, claiming that there has been
no progress on the building of the light-water reactor and that the
country has incurred economic losses.
The IAEA conference will also examine a variety of matters, including
measures to strengthen international cooperation in nuclear,
radiation, transport and waste safety.
It will also examine strengthening the effectiveness and improving
the efficiency of the safeguards system, and measures to improve the
security of nuclear materials and other radioactive materials, among
other issues.
At the opening of the conference, participants offered a silence
prayer to honor the victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the
U.S.
Earlier Monday, IAEA spokesman David Kyd told a news conference that
if terrorists used commercial jetliners to attack nuclear power
plants in Europe, the damage could have been devastating.
Kyd said nuclear power plants could survive an accidental crash of a
commercial jetliner or a military aircraft but an airborne terrorist
attack such as what took place in New York and Washington last
Tuesday had not been anticipated.
The main body of a reactor may not explode, however, a groundwater
explosion could occur if cooling devises inside are damaged, he
added.
Kyd said it may be difficult for terrorists to attack from the air as
such nuclear power plants are small, compared with the World Trade
Center which were struck and demolished by two hijacked airplanes
Tuesday. The Pentagon was struck by a third airplane in a similar
attack.
-----------------
U.S. calls for more vigilance on nuclear exports
VIENNA, Austria (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham
called Monday for tougher controls on the export of nuclear materials
to keep them out of the hands of criminals.
Speaking at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna,
he said the 132 member countries of the world's nuclear watchdog
should not shrink from their responsibility to protect the world from
"nuclear terror."
"We cannot assume that tomorrow's terrorist acts will mirror those we
have just experienced," Abraham said, referring to last week's
attacks in New York and Washington in which more than 5,000 people
are dead or missing.
"This is why the work of the IAEA is so pivotal...We know our
security, and that of nations around the world, largely depend upon
what this agency does to prevent the proliferation and the misuse of
nuclear materials."
Abraham added: "The terrible events of last week demonstrate in the
clearest possible fashion the importance of maintaining the highest
levels of security over nuclear materials."
Existing commitments on the physical protection of nuclear materials
needed to be strengthened, "particularly those that can be converted
to weapons use," he said.
"We will work with others but we expect others to act responsibly as
well," he said. "We expect the members of this body to prohibit
nuclear exports in cases where there is a significant risk of
diversion."
-------------------
Swedish Medical Center Adds High-Tech Heart Scanner - New EBT System
Sees Coronary Artery Disease Before it Turns Deadly; Can Save Many
Lives
SEATTLE, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington state's only Electron
Beam Tomography (EBT) scanner made its debut at Swedish Medical
Center's Providence Campus on July 9, 2001. This advanced system
quickly and painlessly detects coronary calcium buildup, a highly
reliable predictor of serious heart trouble.
"EBT lets us clearly see coronary artery disease, also known as
atherosclerosis, at its earliest and most treatable stages," said
Gary Oppenheim, M.D., an interventional cardiologist affiliated with
the Swedish Heart Institute. "The earlier we find a problem, the more
a person can do to avoid a possibly fatal heart attack or sudden
cardiac arrest."
Despite many recent medical advances, coronary heart disease is still
the nation's leading cause of death by far -- and it is an equal-
opportunity killer. This year, an estimated 1.1 million Americans
will have a new (650,000) or recurrent (450,000) coronary attack. And
more than 40 percent of them will die of it.
"Nearly 50 percent of men and women will die from coronary artery
disease (CAD), often without warning, and often without abnormal
stress-test findings. EBT scanning -- the gold standard for detecting
the presence of CAD -- can do so decades before the development of
symptoms," said Dr. Oppenheim, medical director of the new EBT
Program.
Initially, the equipment will be devoted exclusively to heart scans,
followed by lung-cancer screenings at a later date. In the future,
the EBT system may be used for detecting colon cancer, osteoporosis
and many other serious medical conditions. It is also capable of
performing noninvasive angiograms to reveal blood-vessel blockages.
The system Swedish selected was developed by Imatron Inc. of South
San Francisco, Calif.
Cost to the patient of an EBT cardiac scan is $550. Dr. Oppenheim
pointed out that this is significantly less than the typical cost for
other heart-screening tests such as a stress echocardiogram or
thallium scan, both of which pick up problems much later in the
disease's progression.
Who Should be Scanned?
Early diagnosis of heart disease is critical, but patients without
symptoms or multiple risk factors rarely recognize that. And, in
fact, many physicians wait until a person experiences the common
symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath before beginning
treatment. By then, it may be too late to avoid a difficult and
expensive major medical procedure.
The Swedish Heart Institute considers an EBT scan appropriate for men
age 40 to 70 and women age 45 to 75 -- even those who are apparently
healthy -- especially if they have at least one of the following risk
factors:
-- high cholesterol
-- family history of early coronary disease
-- diabetes
-- high blood pressure
-- history of smoking
-- sedentary lifestyle
-- obesity
Conventional risk factors, though, explain only about half of all
cardiac events. Fortunately, many in the baby boom generation are
taking direct, personal responsibility for their own health in an all-
out effort to "stay normal" as long as possible. And research has
shown that an EBT scan is an ideal early warning system for cardiac
problems.
"When you see an actual picture of coronary disease in your own
heart, the message to change finally gets through," said primary-care
physician Craig Wright, M.D., medical director of Swedish-affiliated
Providence Medical Group.
Based on experience at the Mayo Clinic, approximately 41 percent of
people with no symptoms of heart disease who are scanned have
moderate to high calcium scores and require further attention.
After a scan, Swedish Heart Institute clinicians connect with the
patient's primary-care physician to help make tailored care
recommendations. For those with moderate to high calcification, next
steps may include lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation, weight
loss, stress reduction, education, increased exercise and/or use of
cholesterol-lowering medications. All patients who are scanned
receive information about the array of such services -- including
cardiac rehabilitation and prevention programs -- which the Swedish
Heart Institute provides through its Center for Cardiac Health and
Wellness. People with normal scans, though, can usually be spared the
risk and expense of further diagnostic procedures and potentially
invasive studies.
"The bottom line is that EBT is helping change the course of people's
lives by giving them the opportunity to combat heart disease before
it strikes or progresses silently," said Sarah Speck, M.D.,
cardiologist and director of the Swedish Heart Institute Center for
Cardiac Health and Wellness.
How EBT Works
The EBT scanner is a diagnostic X-ray system that produces two- and
three-dimensional images of internal human anatomy. It generates a
powerful electron beam that is focused on one of four tungsten target
rings positioned beneath the patient.
The procedure is very simple for everyone involved and completely
noninvasive. A technologist applies a few electrocardiogram (EKG)
leads and the patient lies down and passes through the scanner.
Radiation exposure is minimal -- comparable to a traditional
abdominal X-ray -- and no intravenous injection of contrast dye is
required.
"We can get 40 clear images of a moving heart during one breath hold,
and the person doesn't even need to remove his or her shirt," said
Dr. Oppenheim. "The whole process takes less than five minutes."
The speed of EBT imaging is what really sets it apart from earlier
cardiac scanning technology. Images are captured in milliseconds,
resulting in amazing clarity and greater accuracy of diagnosis.
Other early adopters of EBT include the Mayo Clinic, Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, Stanford University, Ohio Heart,
Beijing (China) Hospital and the Cardiology Research Centre in
Moscow, Russia.
-----------------
Lymphoma treatments expected to broaden
LOS ANGELES, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Options for treating lymphoma, a
cancer of the immune system, look likely to broaden after Tuesday's
support by a U.S. regulatory panel of Zevalin, an experimental drug
that targets radiation to tumors.
But makers of a potential rival drug called Bexxar said Zevalin,
developed by San Diego-based Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. <IDPH.O>,
infringes their patents for using antibody-based drugs to deliver
radiation to cancer cells.
"I don't see it affecting the launch. In the worst-case scenario,
Idec would have to pay a royalty," said Carol Werther, an analyst at
Adams, Harkness & Hill.
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel backed immediate
approval for Zevalin to treat patients with low-grade non-Hodgkins
lymphoma that has become resistant to Rituxan, a biotech drug Idec co-
markets with Genentech Inc. <DNA.N>.
The advisers then recommended the FDA set up an accelerated approval
process, involving more trials, to gauge the benefit of Zevalin in
those who have not yet tried Rituxan.
Werther, who estimates Zevalin sales of $50 million next year, said
the experimental drug is likely to cannibalize "only a portion" of
Rituxan sales.
Difficulties surrounding treatment with Zevalin include the fact that
it can be administered only at facilities approved for radioactive
products and it is not yet known if patients can be treated with the
drug more than once.
"Ultimately, it could take 20 percent of the market," Werther said.
Analysts estimate U.S. sales of Rituxan at around $750 million this
year and more than $1 billion by 2003.
The FDA, which usually follows the advice of its advisory panels, is
due to complete its review of Zevalin by Jan. 8.
If approved, Zevalin would become the first treatment to use
"radioimmunotherapy" to kill tumors. The drug looks for certain
chemicals on cancer cells. When it finds them, it attaches to the
cells and delivers a dose of lethal radiation.
Zevalin's risks include a possible reduction of infection-fighting
white blood cells.
But in one trial, 51 percent of patients who had stopped responding
to Rituxan benefited from a single dose of Zevalin.
By sending radiation throughout the body intravenously, the treatment
could seek and kill several tumor sites at once. External radiation,
which requires focusing on one tumor at a time, can also can damage
healthy cells, explained Idec Chief Executive William Rastetter.
IDEC SUED FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
Idec filed this week for a declaratory judgment that Zevalin does not
infringe patents held by competitors Seattle-based Corixa Corp.
<CRXA.O> and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline Plc <GSK.L>. The two
companies, which are developing a similar lymphoma drug called
Bexxar, on Wednesday sued Idec for patent infringement. Officials at
Idec could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
Final application materials for Bexxar were submitted to the FDA
earlier this month, but the drug has not yet been scheduled for
review by the agency.
Both Zevalin and Bexxar have been given "orphan" status by the FDA,
meaning each will have a period of market exclusivity if approved.
Lymphoma is the term for cancers that develop in the lymphatic
system, a network of thin tubes that carry infection-fighting cells.
Lymphomas other than Hodgkin's disease are grouped together, making
up some 5 percent of U.S. cancer cases.
"Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are a growing problem -- one of the few
types of cancers that are increasing in incidence," said Dr. Michael
Williams, professor of medicine and pathology in hematology/oncology
at the University of Virginia. High-risk groups include organ
transplant recipients and people with suppressed immune systems, such
as those infected with HIV.
Lymphomas are treated with radiation, chemotherapy, a combination of
both, and more recently with Rituxan, considered a "biological"
therapy. Patients in advanced stages of the disease may undergo bone
marrow or stem-cell transplantation.
Rituxan, introduced in 1997, is a monoclonal antibody, a class of
substances that recognize and bind to a protein on the surface of a
cell. After binding to the targeted site, the antibody can block the
growth of the tumor, recruit the body's immune system to attack the
target and make a cancer cell more susceptible to chemotherapy.
"Biological therapies are more targeted than other therapies,"
Williams said.
Williams said the hope is that targeted radiation therapies like
Zevalin will result in better response rates in patients, but the
drug can cause problems with white blood cell counts.
"I think the majority of patients will be treated unlabeled (not
radioactive) antibodies first," the oncologist said, citing safety
concerns.
Rituxan has few side effects and has positive results in nearly half
of patients using it. But, within an average of 10 to 12 months, the
disease advances.
"It is too early to say yet whether Rituxan has has had an impact yet
on survival rates," Williams said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service Fax:(714) 668-3149
ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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