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Lung-cancer treatment paradigms continue to advance as we exploit our growing understanding of the genetic basis of both tumorigenesis and therapy resistance. Moreover, ongoing developments with targeted therapies are improving patient outcomes, with two new drugs approved in 2015 for non-small-cell lung cancer and many others showing promise.
Advances in key areas of research have enabled improved outcomes for patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the past three decades. In 2015, this trend was maintained with important progress in areas such as guideline compliance, design of targeted approaches and molecular profiling.
In 2015, published trials highlighted the remarkable efficacy of docetaxel combined with androgen-deprivation therapy in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer. Also in 2015, a large study revealing potential molecular targets for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer therapies was published, along with a study showing activity of PARP inhibition in patients harbouring mutations in genes governing DNA repair.
In a little over the past year, several clinical trials have evaluated new drugs in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. Furthermore, genomics studies that attempted to unravel the molecular characteristics of colorectal and gastric cancer were published in 2015. The results of these endeavours will influence clinical practice in 2016 and beyond.
In 2014, no major breakthroughs were made in understanding the biology of breast cancer or its management; few novel practice-changing studies were presented or published. Nevertheless, important negative results from studies that challenge some of the current concepts, particularly in drug development, underline 2014 as a year of 'failed surrogates and precocious expectations'.
Heterogeneity within and across tumours is increasingly recognized as a critical factor that limits therapeutic progress for many cancers. Key studies reported in 2014 describe previously unappreciated patterns of geographical and temporal heterogeneity for glioblastoma (the most-common primary CNS tumour in adults), with important implications for ongoing therapeutic studies evaluating molecular targeted therapies.
The results of several clinical trials in metastatic colorectal cancer presented in 2014 will influence clinical practice. These findings include definitive data from phase III trials comparing bevacizumab and cetuximab-based therapy in the first-line, studies elucidating the value of maintenance therapy after induction treatment, and data on new agents in this disease.
