Reviews & Analysis

The considerable progress made in the field of clinical neuro-oncology and the understanding of brain tumor biology is generating cautious optimism. Treatment options for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common form of malignant gliomas, now include anti-angiogenic therapy after failure of standard multi-modality treatments. Furthermore, scientific advancements are providing new insights into disease pathogenesis and point to novel therapeutic approaches for a disease that traditionally lacked treatment options.

Patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprise a heterogeneous population; the role of surgical resection in this setting has been controversial. Albain and colleagues recently demonstrated that trimodality therapy with lobectomy had clinical benefit for patients with pathologic nodal N2 stage III NSCLC. We discuss the trial and its implications for future lung cancer therapy.

Patients with hematological malignancies have a risk of developing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. The addition of ATG to prophylaxis regimens decreases the incidence of GVHD without compromising overall survival in these patients.

Motzer and colleagues present updated results from a multicenter, phase III trial of sunitinib versus interferon-α as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma. The observed improvement in overall survival for patients treated with sunitinib further establishes this agent as the reference standard for first-line treatment of good-risk and intermediate-risk patients with metastatic renal cancer.