Table of contents
April 2007 Volume 4 No 4
Editorial
Viewpoints
Hormone receptors in defining breast cancer prognosis—time for a rethink?
204ER
and ER
are structurally and functionally distinct, but currently only ER is used to guide clinicians. The authors of this Viewpoint discuss whether this strategy is sufficiently informative, and how outcome and tumor response to adjuvant hormonal therapy can be followed more effectively.
How can we improve clinical trials?
206In this Viewpoint, Richard Kaplan asserts that phase II oncology trials could be improved using strategies such as adding a 'real-world' cohort, validating biomarkers across trials, utilizing factorial designs to answer several clinical questions simultaneously, and coordinating academic trial design on an international basis.
Research Highlights
Sorafenib prolongs survival in patients with advanced RCC
208Trastuzumab after adjuvant chemotherapy: survival benefit in HER2-positive breast cancer
208Sunitinib improves response and survival rates in metastatic RCC
208Laparoscopic resection improves outcome of patients with colorectal cancer
209A switch to anastrozole increases the efficacy of adjuvant therapy for breast cancer
209Reducing the time between doses is feasible in breast cancer chemotherapy
210Correlation of blood vessel type and prognosis in patients with CCRCC
210BRCA mutations are not associated with increased risk of endometrial cancer
211Heparin addition to chemotherapy improves survival in advanced pancreatic cancer
211Longer colonoscopic withdrawal times correlate with improved neoplasia detection
211Radiotherapy has a role in treating patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma in partial remission
212CHEK2*1100delC heterozygosity predicts increased risk of breast cancer and poor outcome
212Practice Points
Is bevacizumab effective and safe in combination with chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer?
214Can a 70-gene signature provide useful prognostic information in patients with node-negative breast cancer?
216Does screening for stage I lung cancer improve survival in a high-risk population?
218Cardiac side effects of trastuzumab: lessons learned from targeting cancer pathways
220Reviews
Advances in primary and secondary interventions for cervical cancer: human papillomavirus prophylactic vaccines and testing
224Although significant advances in primary and secondary cervical cancer prevention have been achieved, their true realization and ultimate impact on global disease outcomes will be affected by a number of complex and interrelated factors. One promising prophylactic HPV vaccine is available and others continue in development as primary cervical cancer prevention strategies in younger women. HPV testing is more sensitive and reproducible than cytology with colposcopy for the detection of precancerous and malignant lesions, and this review presents current advances and perspectives on HPV vaccines and HPV testing.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0770 | Full Text | PDF (391K)
Drug Insight: role of the androgen receptor in the development and progression of prostate cancer
236It is clear that androgen receptor (AR) expression and signaling remains intact as the disease evolves from androgen sensitive cancer to classically termed hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Genetic and epigenetic changes allow prostate tumors to continue to rely on AR growth signaling and thus remain targets of 'hormonal' therapy. The development of new strategies and new drugs that more effectively abrogate AR signaling will likely result in significant clinical benefits. This article discusses AR structure, function and molecular changes in androgen-independent prostate cancer and reviews novel AR targeting compounds.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0765 | Full Text | PDF (261K)
Technology Insight: cytotoxic drug immunoconjugates for cancer therapy
245The successful introduction of genetically engineered human and chimeric immunoglobulin proteins has established monoclonal antibodies as a validated approach for treating malignancies. This review examines the optimal design of these agents, the lessons learned from clinical immunoconjugate development, and the promising agents in early preclinical and clinical development for the treatment of cancer.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0774 | Full Text | PDF (354K)
Case Study
Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer: an unusual and aggressive form of hereditary renal carcinoma
256Papillary type 2 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is part of the hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma syndrome that is caused by a mutation in the fumarate hydratase (FH) gene. In this article, the authors present a tragic case of a young man who was diagnosed with papillary type 2 RCC and was managed with radical nephrectomy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and surgical debulking. The article discusses the treatment and management of patients with renal manifestations of FH heterozygosity that are the most serious aspects of the syndrome, and underlines the need for genetic evaluation of patients and members of their families.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0773 | Full Text | PDF (470K)
Corrigendum
Does screening for stage I lung cancer improve survival in a high-risk population?
262doi:10.1038/ncponc0793 | Full Text | PDF (276K)
