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caBIG Annual Meeting Set for April
The 2005 caBIG Annual Meeting will take place April 12-13, 2005, at the Bethesda
Marriott in Bethesda, Md. caBIG, which was launched in 2004, is an NCI initiative
in partnership with over 50 NCI-designated Cancer Centers. The meeting will highlight
the ways in which caBIG is delivering open-source, open-access tools, applications,
data, and standards developed by the caBIG community to accelerate cancer research,
prevention, and care. Anyone working in biomedical informatics or clinical research
informatics is welcome to attend.
A meeting overview and information on registration and accommodations are available
at http://caBIG.nci.nih.gov/2005_Annual_Meeting. Online pre-registration is required.
FDA Cautions Doctors on Eczema Drugs and Cancer Risk
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory to doctors on March
10 urging caution in prescribing two drugs used to treat eczema because of possible
cancer risk.
Pimecrolimus (Elidel), made by Novartis, and tacrolimus (Protopic), made by Fujisawa
Healthcare, will receive new label warnings saying that an increased risk of
cancer may be associated with their use, the FDA said. Both drugs are applied
to the skin to control eczema by suppressing the immune system.
Animal tests have shown an increase in cancer associated with the drugs, and
a small number of cancers have been reported in children and adults treated with
the drugs, the FDA said. The agency added that the manufacturers have agreed
to do further tests to determine the actual risk, although both companies contended
that the products have not been tied to cancer.
OCCAM TA Workshop Set for June
NCI’s Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine will hold
a technical assistance workshop June 27-28 in Bethesda, Md., on “How to
Write a Grant in Cancer CAM.” Attendees will learn first-hand from NIH
program directors, researchers who have received CAM research funding, and
representatives of organizations that sponsor research about the different
types of funding mechanisms
for cancer CAM research, as well as details on grant preparation, development,
assignment, review, and awards.
Investigators new to cancer CAM research and/or those who are struggling with
the NIH grant application process are invited to attend. Space is limited to
20 applicants. To apply, investigators must submit a short description of their
cancer CAM research proposal that relates to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment
of cancer, its symptoms, or treatment of side-effects. The submission deadline
is April 1. For more information, contact Dr. Hasnaa Shafik at 301-435-7980 or
at shafikh@mail.nih.gov.
Cancer.gov Gets High Marks Again
For the second consecutive quarter, the NCI Web site, http://www.cancer.gov,
received a top score among government Web sites on the American Customer Satisfaction
Index first quarter report for 2005. The site’s online customer satisfaction
score was 80 on the 100-point scale for Web Portals/Department Main Sites,
outperforming the E-Government average score of 71.9. A total of 59 federal
government sites
were scored in the quarter.
NCI launched a redesigned Web site in May 2004 with improved navigation and functionality
for users, the majority of whom are first-time visitors with a pressing need
for information. In November 2004, the site won a FREDDIE Award, also known as
the International Health and Medical Media Information Award.
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