American Association for Cancer Research

October 15 Clinical Cancer Research Highlights

PDF Version for Printing pdf4.gif

Selected Articles from the October 15, 2007 Issue

The articles referenced in this Highlights section will be available online in HTML and PDF formats to all interested users at no charge until the next issue of Clinical Cancer Research is published. Click on the article title to view the complete article.

View the Table of Contents for the October 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Analysis of PI3K Mutations Reveals Different Biological Activities

Barbareschi et al.

Page 6064

Barbareschi and colleagues analyzed PIK3CA mutations in 163 consecutive breast cancers from patients with long-term follow-up and identified 46 missense mutations, 24 in exon 9 (helical domain) and 21 in exon 20 (kinase domain). Exon 20 mutations were associated with prolonged overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), whereas exon 9 mutations were independently associated with poor DFS and OS. This study underscores the importance of detailed analysis of the type of PI3K mutations. Mutations in different functional domains may exert different biological activities, which could be fundamental in designing appropriate therapeutic agents.
 

BAFF Highly Active in Chronic GVHD

Sarantopoulos et al.

Page 6107

The full potential of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has not been realized because of transplant-related complications like chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Without objective biologically relevant measurements of disease, rigorous clinical trials remain difficult to conduct and interpret, and treatment of cGVHD remains palliative. Sarantopoulos and colleagues showed that BAFF, a cytokine known to play a central role in B cell survival, showed significantly increased differentiation and autoreactivity in patients with active chronic GVHD. If high BAFF is confirmed as disease-predictive, the natural history of cGVHD may be altered by targeting the BAFF pathway with existing agents before disease onset.

MRI Detects Significantly More Invasive Breast Cancers

Riedl et al.

Page 6144

Patients at high risk for breast cancer often show an earlier onset of the disease and worse prognosis than the average population. Improved surveillance seems necessary. With results of a large-scale multi-modality screening study on such women, Riedl and Helbich affirmed that MRI enables the detection of significantly more invasive breast cancers than the traditional screening modalities mammography or ultrasound. They further proposed that MRI detects significantly more in situ carcinomas and even premalignant lesions. The detection of such early-stage disease should increase the chance for curative treatment and could have major implications in an individual’s risk assessment and further patient management.

Johnson et al.

Page 6175

Pertuzumab, a first-in-class HER2 dimerization inhibitor, is a humanized monoclonal anti-HER2 antibody that binds HER2’s dimerization domain and inhibits HER2 signaling. Based on supporting preclinical studies, Johnson and colleagues conducted a phase II trial of pertuzumab in patients with recurrent non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Pertuzumab is well tolerated as monotherapy. Pharmacodynamic activity correlated with prolonged progression-free survival rates was detected in a moderate percentage (27.3%) of patients. Further clinical development of pertuzumab should focus on rational combinations of pertuzumab with other drugs active in NSCLC.

Highlights

Highlights: CCR

Highlights: CR

Highlights: CEBP

Highlights: MCT

AACR Journals

Cancer Research Home

Clinical Cancer Research Home

CEBP Home

Molecular Cancer Research Home

Molecular Cancer Therapeutics Home

Cancer Reviews Online Home

©2001-2008 American Association for Cancer Research | 615 Chestnut St. 17th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Contact Us | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | AACR Foundation | AACR Jobs