National Comprehensive Cancer Network

About NCCN

NCCN to Present Guidelines in China

JENKINTOWN, Pa., February 21, 2007 — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 20 of the world’s leading cancer centers, will present the Breast, Colorectal, Gastric, Non-Small Cell Lung and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China. Over the course of five meetings in March and April, experts from NCCN Member Institutions and leading physicians in China will review and adapt these guidelines for use in China.

Oncologists outside the United States refer to the NCCN guidelines, but they face challenges with certain treatment recommendations because their patients and health care systems differ from those in the United States. Last year, NCCN physicians and Chinese physicians made minor changes to the breast and non-small cell lung cancer guidelines to account for differences in patient drug metabolism and availability of specific drugs in China. After the success of those meetings, NCCN was invited again, this time to address the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), Gastric and Colorectal guidelines as well as to update the Breast and Non-Small Cell Lung cancer guidelines for practice in China.

Drs. Andrew Zelenetz, Mark Kris and David Ilson from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York will represent NCCN in Beijing and Shanghai on March 24 and 25. They will be presenting the NHL, non-small cell lung and gastric cancer guidelines. Drs. Harold Burstein from Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Al B. Benson III from the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University will be presenting the colorectal and breast cancer guidelines in Beijing and Guangzhou.

For questions about NCCN or for interview information, please contact Megan Martin 215.690.0576.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world’s leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives. For more information, visit NCCN.org.

The NCCN Member Institutions are:

• City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center
  Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
• Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Fox Chase Cancer Center
• Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center / Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
• The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
• Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
• The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
• Roswell Park Cancer Institute
• Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital / University of Tennessee Cancer Institute
• Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center
• University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center
• UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
• University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
• UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center
• The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center