Clinical pharmacology: CYP2D6 polymorphisms associated with tamoxifen outcome | PDF (117 KB)
p675 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.182
Current Issue
December 2009 Vol 6 No 12
Research Highlights
Screening: Aberrant methylation—early biomarker for CRC | PDF (93 KB)
p676 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.176
Treating advanced TCCU | PDF (48 KB)
p676 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.180
Radiotherapy: Interstitial fluid pressure predicts radiation response | PDF (47 KB)
p677 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.177
Hematology: Fas determines outcome in DLBCL | PDF (52 KB)
p677 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.178
High dose equals improved response | PDF (46 KB)
p677 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.181
Screening: Diagnostic markers for ovarian cancer | PDF (81 KB)
p678 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.175
Hematology: Dexamethasone for childhood leukemia | PDF (49 KB)
p678 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.179
Correction
Chlamydial infection: the link with ocular adnexal lymphomas | PDF (43 KB)
p678 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.189
Correction
The case against rituximab maintenance | PDF (42 KB)
p678 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.190
News and Views
Targeted therapies: Sunitinib in RCC—expanded access equals expanded benefit?
Toni K. Choueiri & Michael B. Atkins
p679 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.170
Sunitinib is a standard first-line therapy for patients with advanced or metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma. In an expanded-access study, sunitinib has demonstrated clinical benefit with an acceptable safety profile in a population of patients that is representative of those seen in clinical practice.
Hematology: Dasatinib regimens for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia
François Guilhot & Lydia Roy
p680 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.160
Although imatinib mesylate therapy has dramatically improved the prognosis of patients in the advanced phases of chronic myeloid leukemia, room for improvement remains. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are undergoing evaluation as second-line therapy for patients with imatinib-resistant disease. Kantarjian et al. recently demonstrated that once-daily dasatinib 140 mg is well tolerated and achieves a high response rate.
Screening: Is breast cancer overdiagnosed?
Andrea Veronesi & Diego Serraino
p682 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.172
Jørgensen and Gøtzsche quantified the degree of overdiagnosis of breast cancer in five publicly organized mammography screening programs in different parts of the world. Overall, they estimated a total degree of breast cancer (including carcinoma in situ) overdiagnosis of 52%, while overdiagnosis for invasive breast cancer was 35%, a finding with potential implications for both clinical practice and public health.
Hematology: First-line bortezomib benefits patients with multiple myeloma
Meletios A. Dimopoulos & Evangelos Terpos
p683 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.171
Bortezomib-based regimens are beneficial in the treatment of patients with symptomatic, newly diagnosed and relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Researchers who investigated the efficacy and safety of single-agent bortezomib as first-line therapy in patients with myeloma have particularly emphasized the incidence and management of peripheral neuropathy, which is the most common adverse effect of bortezomib administration.
Reviews
Liver metastases from colorectal cancer: radioembolization with systemic therapy
Nils H. Nicolay, David P. Berry & Ricky A. Sharma
p687 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.165
Most patients with advanced colorectal cancer die from hepatic metastases. Radioembolization is a technique for administering radiotherapy internally to unresectable primary or secondary hepatic malignancies in a single procedure to improve local control of disease. This technique enables significant downsizing of liver metastases after surgical resection, and the rationale for this approach combined with cytotoxic and molecularly targeted agents is outlined.
Primary HPV screening for cervical cancer prevention: results from European trials
Elsebeth Lynge & Matejka Rebolj
p699 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.167
Six European randomized controlled trials that will compare human papillomavirus (HPV) testing with cytology testing for cervical screening are under way. The outcome of HPV testing versus cytology testing depends not only on the relative accuracy of the primary test but also on how radical the different triage procedures are. Two trials have shown a 50% reduction in grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia detection in subsequent screening rounds. The authors critically discuss the reasons for the different results observed in these trials and the implications for primary screening.
Gamma-delta T-cell lymphomas
Claudio Tripodo, Emilio Iannitto, Ada Maria Florena, Carlo Ennio Pucillo, Pier Paolo Piccaluga, Vito Franco & Stefano Aldo Pileri
p707 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.169
Gamma-delta lymphomas are rare and aggressive lymphomas with a poor prognosis. The authors of this Review discuss the clinical and biological features of the two types of such lymphomas and the diagnostic challenges associated with these still insufficiently known diseases.
Histological and molecular types of breast cancer: is there a unifying taxonomy?
Britta Weigelt & Jorge S. Reis-Filho
p718 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.166
Microarray studies have been used to unravel the molecular characteristics of breast cancer and a molecular taxonomy has been proposed. The authors of this Review discuss the origins of the diversity of breast cancer and, based on the study of histological special types of breast cancer, propose an approach for the identification of novel therapeutic targets.
Perspectives
Opinion
More is less—combining targeted therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer
Cornelis J. A. Punt & Jolien Tol
p731 | doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.168
Targeted agents directed at VEGF and EGFR have become part of the standard treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer; however, only some patients benefit from such treatment. The CAIRO2 and PACCE trials have shown a detrimental effect of adding an anti-EGFR antibody to standard chemotherapy plus bevacizumab. In this Perspective, the authors discuss issues that may explain these unexpected results.
