May 2010

Patients with cancer whose treatment includes any drug that inhibits signaling via the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway should receive regular blood pressure (BP) monitoring according to a panel of experts convened by the Angiogenesis Task Force of the National Cancer Institute Investigational Drug Steering Committee.

H. Jack West, MD, takes a moment to talk about what he is finding in regard to anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements seen in approximately 4% of patients with non�small cell lung cancer, as reviewed by Shaw et al in a September 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

We summarize the latest oncology news.

Founded in 1884, the New York City institute known today as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) is the world's oldest and largest private cancer center.

Merck and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals have announced the restructuring of their collaboration on the effort to bring ridaforolimus�ARIAD�s investigational mTOR inhibitor�to market. The companies, which first entered into the collaboration almost 3 years ago, have been working together to develop the agent in multiple potential cancer indications.

Array BioPharma Inc released its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2010, reporting $18.4 million in total revenue for the period but a net loss of $15.2 million, or $0.30 per share.

At the 101st American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, in April, Pfizer presented a broad overview of its current oncology pipeline.

To help physicians manage the complexities of meeting benchmarks and reporting their compliance to payers, US Oncology recently announced Payer Quality Services. This program will give physicians in the United Network of US Oncology access to a collection of resources and tools, including the Level I Pathways Program.

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) are indicated for the treatment of a variety of malignancies, due to their ability to interfere with cell communication and growth. This review focuses on interactions that affect TKI metabolism.

A struggle with cancer is often referred to as a battle. Now, a study reveals patients with cancer and caregivers even experience a condition common to soldiers, post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Two studies presented at the 2010 Digestive Disease Week support the use of colonoscopy in elderly African Americans and Hispanics.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently held its 15th Annual Conference in Hollywood, Florida. The conference was entitled �Clinical Practice Guidelines & Quality Cancer Care� and included multiple presentations with updates to the NCCN Guidelines. We cover updates to the NCCN Guidelines for breast cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and multiple myeloma.

Since 2003, the rate of women choosing breast-conserving surgery for the management of early-stage breast cancer has declined, with an accompanying recidivism to mastectomy. Edibaldo Silva, MD, PhD, examines the reasons for the treatment regression.

Advances in screening and the approval of vaccines against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes 70% of cervical cancer cases, have brought us to a turning point with cervical cancer.

PLX4032 is an investigational treatment for metastatic melanoma, which some are calling a �miracle cure� following a 3-part article in the New York Times that discussed promising patient responses. A closer reading of the article makes it clear that PLX4032 does not cure metastatic melanoma, something Keith Flaherty, MD, a lead investigator on PLX4032, has confirmed in an interview with Oncology & Biotech News.

At last year's American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, the official focus was on seeing personalized cancer medicine translated from a theoretical approach to a practical one. As you will see in this issue of Oncology & Biotech News, success is being realized on this front.