January 1 2008 Clinical Cancer Research Highlights

Selected Articles from the January 1, 2008 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 January 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Cardiotoxic Effects of Chemotherapy Examined

Healey Bird and Swain

Page 14

As breast cancer survival is increased by the diagnosis of earlier-stage disease and as treatments improve, the side-effects of cancer treatments, such as cardiotoxicity, have become clinically important. Although physicians have known for 30 years that anthracyclines cause acute and chronic cardiotoxicity, the cardiotoxic effects of radiation therapy, hormonal therapy (including tamoxifen and the aromatase inhibitors), chemotherapy with taxanes, and trastuzumab treatment have emerged more recently. Healy Bird and Swain have examined the cardiac toxicity of adjuvant therapy, monitoring for early changes, and existing guidelines for monitoring cardiac function in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

FCM Ideal Companion of Rituximab for CLL

Bosch et al.

Page 155

Fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and mitoxantrone (FCM) results in a high response rate in previously treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Bosch and colleagues investigated FCM as front-line therapy in CLL. FCM induced a high response rate, including minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative complete responses in untreated patients with active CLL. Treatment toxicity was acceptable. Both high ZAP-70 and CD38 expression predicted failure to obtain MRD-negative response. Patients in whom MRD can be eradicated have longer response duration and overall survival than those with inferior response. These results indicated that FCM can be the ideal companion of rituximab as treatment of patients with CLL.

Three Proteins Overexpressed in Glioblastoma

Wykosky et al.

Page 199

Heterogeneity is one reason for the poor response of high-grade astrocytomas to treatment, which rational, combinatorial molecularly-targeted therapies could change. Wykosky and colleagues investigated the expression of three pharmaceutically tractable targets: IL-13 receptor α2, EphA2, and Fra-1. The over-expression of all three proteins was associated with astrocytoma grade. Importantly, every single patient with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) over-expressed at least one of these targets. These findings reveal a tri-molecular signature of GBM and provide rationale for the development of combinatorial therapies in such a way to circumvent the need for individualized molecular profiling of patients.

EndoAngio-PRRA Eliminates AI Prostate Tumors

Li et al.

Page 291

Li et al. Endostatin and angiostatin have demonstrated strong antiangiogenic and antitumor effects. However, effective antiangiogenic therapy requires cycled administration, which is a tremendous challenge technically and economically. Li and colleagues developed a novel EndoAngio-PRRA by integrating endostatin and angiostatin fusion gene in an improved prostate restricted replication competent adenoviral vector. EndoAngio-PRRA eliminated 9 out of 10 treated androgen-independent (AI) subcutaneous tumors by three combined antitumor effects: EndoAngio inhibited tumor vasculature, PRRA infected and killed tumor cells, and EndoAngio induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells via viral replication. EndoAngio-PRRA is a promising treatment strategy for AI prostate cancer, which currently has no cure.

January 1 2008 Clinical Cancer Research Highlights

Selected Articles from the January 1, 2008 Issue

Cardiotoxic Effects of Chemotherapy Examined

FCM Ideal Companion of Rituximab for CLL

Three Proteins Overexpressed in Glioblastoma

EndoAngio-PRRA Eliminates AI Prostate Tumors

Highlights

Highlights: CCR

Highlights: CR

Highlights: CEBP

Highlights: MCR

Highlights: MCT

AACR Journals

Cancer Research Home

Clinical Cancer Research Home

CEBP Home

Cancer Prevention Research Home

Molecular Cancer Research Home

Molecular Cancer Therapeutics Home

Cancer Reviews Online Home