About the authors

Yohann Loriot

Dr Yohann Loriot obtained his medical degree in 2003 from Paris University VI. Currently, he is a Fellow in Medical Oncology at the Institute Gustave Roussy (Villejuif, France).

Gabriel Perlemuter

Gabriel Perlemuter is Professor of Hepatology in Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Hôpital Antoine Béclère, Paris-South 11 University, Clamart, France, and Head of an INSERM team on cytokines, chemokines and liver inflammation, INSERM U764, Clamart, France.

David Malka

Dr David Malka, MD, PhD, is member of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Unit at the Institute Gustave Roussy. He is currently Head of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Unit. He is also in charge of the Gastrointestinal Oncogenetics Outpatient Facility, and a permanent member of the Gastrointestinal Translational Research Business Unit.

Frédérique Penault-Lorca

Frédérique Penault-Lorca is Professor of Pathology in the Department of Pathology, Centre Jean Perrin, Clermont–Ferrand, France.

Valérie Boige

Dr Valérie Boige, MD, is member of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Unit at the Institute Gustave Roussy, and Head of the Gastrointestinal Translational Research Business Unit.

Eric Deutsch

Dr Eric Deutsch has been Assistant Professor at the Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France since November 2001. He trained as a radiation oncologist in Paris and obtained a PhD in radiation biology. He is co-ordinator of the preclinical radiation therapy laboratory and his clinical activity dedicated to the early clinical trials within the radiation therapy department at the Institute Gustave Roussy.

Christophe Massard

Christophe Massard is a member of the Phase I Unit at the Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.

Jean Pierre Armand

Dr Jean–Pierre Armand has been the Head of the Phase I unit at the Institute Gustave Roussy since 1980. He has been President of the Societe Française du Cancer (SFC), Chairman of the Groupe de Therapeutic Medicament Anti-Cancer (GTMAC), which advises the French Minister of Health on the registration of drugs. He is also Chairman of the Protocol Review Committee at the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and a member of the Board.

Jean-Charles Soria

Professor Jean-Charles Soria is Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology at Paris University XI. He is a tenure-track and full time cancer specialist at the Institute Gustave Roussy. Professor Soria trained as a medical oncologist and obtained a Silver medal from Paris Medical School in 1997. He gained a PhD degree in the fundamental basis of oncogenesis in 2001, and completed his training with a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA. Professor Soria is currently Head of the phase I program at the Institute Gustave Roussy and member of the lung cancer unit with a focus on targeted therapies. His main research interests are in early clinical development, phase I trials across solid tumors, pharmacodynamic biomarkers, early phase II trials and lung cancer. He is also involved in translational research aspects related to tumor progression, notably in lung cancer models. Professor Soria has been the Principal Investigator on ten phase I trials during the past 3 years as well as half a dozen phase II trials in lung cancer. He is currently the Chair of the French Scientific National Program on Lung Cancer (PNES), launched by the French NCI. Professor Soria is Member of ASCO, AACR, ESMO and IASLC. He also founded the Flims Alumni Club (FAC) in 2001. Professor Soria is a current member of the ESMO educational committee, as well as an ASCO committee member. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the Lancet Oncology, the American Journal of Clinical Oncology and Bulletin du Cancer. He has contributed to over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including publications as first or last author in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Research and Clinical Cancer Research.