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Research highlights—1999
 The Oncology Research Program completed a U.S. Department of Defense-funded study to evaluate the impact of intervention by advanced practice nurses on quality of life and cost of care for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Findings showed that women in the nurse intervention group demonstrated less uncertainty during the first six months after diagnosis than women in the control group.
Preliminary results of the TEAM Smoking Cessation Study show that 12-month smoking cessation rates at Methodist Hospital were significantly higher with a nurse counseling intervention. More than 1,000 Methodist Hospital patients participated in the National Institutes of Health-funded study over two and a half years. This study led to the "Quit Smoking Program," which tailors the intervention to patients´ motivation and desire to quit smoking.
Through the Rheumatoid Arthritis Investigational Network (RAIN), the Rheumatology Treatment and Resource Center has begun an innovative clinical trial involving Enbrel, a promising disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD), which may improve clinical outcomes in combination with other DMARDs. Other RAIN studies launched in 1999 include a study to determine if a combination of doxycycline and methotrexate is more effective than methotrexate alone in treating rheumatoid arthritis, and a study to evaluate the genetic makeup of people with rheumatoid arthritis compared to the genetic makeup of their biological, living parents.
The Asthma and Allergy Research Center continues a two-year study on the long-term effects of an inhaled corticosteroid medication on bone density in adults with asthma. The study involves assessing osteoporosis as a possible complication of inhaled corticosteroid use by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure bone mineral density of patients with persistent asthma.
Ninety-five new research studies were approved by the Protocol Review Committee in 1999, a 10 percent increase over 1998.
The Metro-Minnesota Community Clinical Oncology Program is participating in The Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) trial, a national study involving 22,000 women for the prevention of breast cancer. Ann Deshler, RN, BSN, administrative director, serves on the National STAR Coordinator Committee. |
