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Vol. 10, No. 3 · June 2006 · Editor: Martha L. Golar, Esq.
· Recent News Items · October Courthouse Alert -- Harlem Van · Calendar of Events JALBCA Enjoys Another Successful Annual Dinner  JALBCA’s annual dinner on May 15 at The Water’s Edge in Long Island City, once again, enjoyed perfect weather and record attendance. The dinner was co-chaired, as always, by Sandra C. Katz, Esq. (former JALBCA Co-President) and by Cynthia Rubin, Esq. We owe them much gratitude for their hard work and the evening’s success.Hon. Judith S. Kaye installed the officers and directors for the coming year. Co-Presidents Judge Barbara Irolla Panepinto and Judith Livingston, Esq. were installed to the second year of their terms. Judge Panepinto currently presides in a Matrimonial Part, of the Supreme Court, in Richmond County. She was first elected to the Civil Court in Richmond County in 1996, becoming the first Staten Island woman elected to its judiciary. Ms. Livingston is a partner and trial lawyer at the firm of Kramer, Dillof, Livingston and Moore, specializing in medical malpractice litigation. In March of 1998, Ms. Livingston was named by the National Law Journal as one of “The 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers” in America.  JALBCA granted one award this year, the Leadership Achievement Award, to the Hon. Judith S. Kaye, who holds a very special place in our hearts. Chief Judge Kaye, a stalwart supporter of JALBCA and one of its founding members, has served as its Honorary Chair since its inception in 1992. She has moderated JALBCA’s Annual Symposium, and installed its officers and directors, every year -- without exception -- since its formation. Our Award is but one of many which have been bestowed upon Judge Kaye. She is the recipient of the American Bar Association Justice Center John Marshall Award, the National Council on Adoptable Children’s Adoption Activist Award, the Justice Management Institute’s Ernest C. Friesen Award of Excellence, the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession’s Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, and the National Center for State Courts’ William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. The Award was presented by Hon. Sondra Miller, retired Justice of the Appellate
Division, Second Department, and a former Co-President of JALBCA. Justice Miller, presently, is Chief Counsel at McCarthy Fingar LLP in White Plains, NY. Judge Kaye is the first woman to occupy the highest office in the New York State judiciary, having been appointed Chief Judge by Governor Mario M. Cuomo and sworn in on March 23, 1993. She became the first woman to serve on New York State’s highest court when Governor Cuomo appointed her
Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals on September 12, 1983.Recent News Items GlaxoSmithKlein – Combination of Tykerb (Lapatinib ditosylate) and Xeloda® (Capecitabine) In early April 2006, GlaxoSmithKlein announced that it had halted enrollment in its Phase III clinical trial evaluating the combination of Tykerb and Xeloda versus Xeloda alone. This followed a unanimous recommendation of an Independent Data Monitoring Committee. The trial was evaluating women with advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have documented ErbB2 (HER-2) overexpression and whose disease progressed after treatment with Herceptin® (Trastuzumab) and other cancer therapies. Reportedly the pre-planned interim analysis of 321 patients in the clinical trial provided “statistically significant results” which showed time-to-disease progression. Overexpression of ErbB1 and ErbB2 receptors has been reported in a variety of human tumors and is associated with poor prognosis and reduced overall survival. It is known that in cases of metastatic breast cancer approximately 20% - 30% of tumors produce excess amounts of HER-2. Tykerb is an experimental drug and designed as a targeted cancer treatment, i.e., one which is aimed at specific mechanisms used by tumors to grow or survive. Presently it does not have regulatory approval in any country for any use outside of clinical trials although the company reported that it will file for regulatory approval in the second half of 2006. The company has said that it would make Tykerb available under rules which allow for compassionate use of unapproved drugs by seriously ill patients. Tykerb is a small molecule being developed by GlaxoSmithKlein as an orally administered therapy for breast cancer and other solid tumors. Tykerb potentially inhibits the tyrosine kinase components of ErbB1 and ErbB2 receptors. The most common side effects of treatment including Tykerb plus Xeloda were nausea and diarrhea. By way of background, Herceptin (which is administered intravenously, not orally like Tykerb) may not cross the blood-brain barrier, but ErbB2-over-expressing breast cancer may have a tendency to metastasize to visceral sites including the brain. Therefore, central nervous system disease progression is proving to be a clinical problem for patients with this overexpression. Paolo Paoletti, M.D., Senior Vice President of the Oncology Medicine Development Center at GlaxoSmithKlein had previously lauded the importance of the start of the company’s Phase II clinical trial in late 2005 to evaluate the therapeutic potential of Tykerb for patients with ErbB2-over-expressing breast cancer brain metastases. At that time, the company’s website explained that “(f)ew trials have examined the role of chemotherapy in the treatment of brain metastases from breast cancer and most studies of novel agents for breast cancer have specifically excluded patients with brain metastases.” More generally, The Wall Street Journal reported on June 2, 2006 that several of the existing targeted drugs -- e.g., Herceptin (by Genentech Inc., for breast cancer), Erbitux (by Bristol-Meyers Squibb and InClone Systems Inc. for colon cancer) and Gleevec (by Novartis AG for chronic myeloid leukemia -- may face new competition in the pharmaceutical market with new cancer drugs. These new drugs include Tykerb, panitumumab (by Amgen, an antibody targeting a growth protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), for colon cancer) and dasatinib (by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, for chronic myeloid leukemia and planned testing as well for a rare gastrointestinal cancer also treated by Gleevec, as well as potentially other cancers). Such competition in the cancer market does not now exist since most of the new rival therapies do not yet have FDA approval and many are aimed mainly at patients who have failed existing treatments. However, competition could result in a price reduction for cancer therapies and a greater variety of treatment options for physicians and patients. Fewer but Higher Doses of Radiotherapy Appear to be Safe and Effective The Wall Street Journal reported that The Lancet Oncology journal published study findings that fewer but more-concentrated doses of radiotherapy after surgery could be as safe and effective as the normally longer course of treatment for breast cancer patients, without an increase in side effects. The normal treatment is 25 doses over five weeks. The reduced course of treatment was 13 larger doses over a shorter period. This was a 10-year study involving 1,410 women, but researchers are waiting for the results of other trials in order to see whether the concentrated therapy is more effective in the long term. The trial was conducted by Professor John Yarnold of the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. LegalHealth The Journal of Clinical Oncology, in its May 1, 2006 issue, focused on “The Attorney As the Newest Member of the Cancer Treatment Team”. The article argues that while efforts have been made to integrate basic symptom management into routine cancer treatment (e.g., early intervention for pain, fatigue, adverse side effects of treatment, necessary life adjustments), little has been done to integrate legal advocacy services. To date, barriers to proactive attorney involvement have been the priority of tasks related to treatment over personal issues until these impede care, a lack of immediate and easy access to legal counsel, and inadequate knowledge among cancer treatment team members. This is in contrast to certain other vulnerable patient populations, e.g., geriatric patients, where legal teams have long been involved in the areas of estate planning, conservatorship and guardianship issues, and HIV/AIDS patients. LegalHealth, the founder of which (Randye Retkin, Esq.) spoke at a monthly JALBCA program, tries to fill this vacuum for the cancer care community and obtained a write-up in the Journal article. LegalHealth provides free legal services to individuals with chronic illness and trains health care professionals on the legal issues affecting their patients. The organization helps both patients and families; they also train physicians to recognize significant issues that may negatively impact medical outcomes but have a legal remedy, such as employment problems (and the related retention of health insurance), lack of homecare (after hospital discharge) and poor housing conditions. LegalHealth lawyers are stationed in the same clinical area where cancer treatment is provided, facilitating patient access and potentially providing intervention before crises occur. For more information about LegalHealth, or to read about the need for earlier legal intervention for the cancer community, contact LegalHealth at 450 W. 33rd Street, 11th Floor, NY NY 10001 or obtain a copy of the Journal article (Volume 24, Number 13, May 1, 2006). Free Prostate Cancer PSA Test In collaboration with the New York Daily News, the NYU Cancer Institute and the NYU Department of Urology are offering FREE PSA blood tests for the early detection of prostate cancer. No appointment necessary. For more information, please call 212-263-2266. Update on Study of High BC Rates on Manhattan's East Side and in Rockland County In May 2003, a year-long study, using $500,000 in federal funds, was announced to research the potential causes of high breast cancer rates on Manhattan’s East Side and in Rockland County. The study was to be conducted at the NYU Medical Center. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and former Congressman Benjamin Gilman worked to obtain the federal funding for the study. Their efforts followed the release of findings in April 2000 from the NYS Department of Health, indicating that a majority of these two areas are characterized by “elevated incidence not likely due to chance”. Zip codes 10128, 10028 and 10021 in Manhattan are included. Certain local residents in Manhattan suspect sources for the elevated rates in the area, which would be presumably investigated as part of any study – these apparently include any burning programs at York Avenue hospitals in the 1990s and carcinogenic airborne emissions from these hospitals; automobile emissions generated, for example, from traffic associated with the Queensborough Bridge; and emissions from former Con Edison plants. To date, the results and/or status of the NYU study have not been made publicly available. The results of such a study would be of interest to Manhattan residents and, perhaps, could impact property values in the relevant neighborhoods and/or contingent liabilities for any pollution sources. October Courthouse Alert -- Harlem Van A mammography van will be scheduled for October 18, 2006 at the Harlem Courthouse at 120 East 121st Street. Once again, we thank Kay Murray for her efforts in making the arrangements. Calendar of Events SHARE Self-Help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer) 1501 Broadway New York, NY 11530 Also: QueensSHARE, HarlemSHARE, and BrooklynSHARE www.sharecancersupport.org 212-719-0364 SHARE Breast Cancer Hotline 212-382-2111 SHARE Ovarian Cancer Hotline 212-719-1204 Treatment of Fatigue and Other Symptoms Related to Chemotherapy
Vaccines: How Close Are We?
MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER Post-Treatment Resource Program Educational Forums 1275 York Avenue, Room M107 New York, NY 10021 212.717.3527 www.mskcc.org Clinical Genetics Service 222 East 70th St. (betw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.) New York, NY 10021 212-434-5149 Offers hereditary cancer risk assessment, genetic counseling, and genetic testing by genetic counselors and physicians. ADELPHI NY STATEWIDE BREAST CANCER Hotline & Support Program Adelphi University School of Social Work Garden City, NY 11530 www.adelphi.edu/nysbreastcancer/index.html CANCERCARE 1-800-813-HOPE(4673) info@cancercare.org Telephone Education Workshop -- Fourth Annual Cancer Survivorship Series: Living With, Through, and Beyond Cancer, Part III: Managing Your Costs of Recovery
JALBCA does not endorse the content or efficacy of any workshops or programs listed in the Calendar of Events; listings are for informational purposes only, so that our readership is aware of current offerings. |
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