ASCO Audio Journal of Oncology – August 15th 2006

Joan Houghton

Elizabeth Barrett-Connor

Fran Balkwill

Carl Christophe Schimanski

Adjuvant Anastrozole for Patients With Breast Cancer: Long-Term Safety Results From the ATAC Study

REFERENCE: Lancet Oncol 2006;7:633Joan Houghton, University College, LondonThe case for using aromatase inhibitors rather than tamoxifen as adjuvant endocrine treatment for postmenopausal patients with breast cancer was strengthened recently by the latest report from the ATAC (Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination) study just published in the Lancet Oncology.Joan Houghtonfrom London University explained to Sarah Maxwell how the safety of anastrozole has now been confirmed by five-year mature data from more than 6,000 patients.

Raloxifene for Cancer Prevention More Benefit Than Risk?

REFERENCE: N Engl J Med 2006;355:125Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, University of California, San DiegoThe findings of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shed new light on breast cancer chemoprevention by looking at the selective estrogen modulator raloxifene. Data on 10,000 women, who were recruited primarily to test the drug’s activity for preventing cardiovascular disease, showed a powerful effect in preventing breast cancer. The investigators suggest that in women at risk of osteoporosis, raloxifene may be a better agent for preventing breast cancer than tamoxifen.

Chemokines: Mediators of Invasion and Metastasis–New Targets for Ovarian Cancer Therapy?

REFERENCE: American Association for Cancer Research 97th Annual Meeting April 1-5, 2006, Washington DC. Education SessionFran Balkwill, Barts Hospital, LondonChemo-attractant molecules called chemokines that direct the migration of immune cells around the body could become important new weapons in the cancer doctor’s therapeutic armory, according toFran Balkwillwho chaired an education session at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. In difficult-to-treat diseases like ovarian cancer, chemokine modulation offers the possibility of contributing alternative targeted components to anticancer regimens.

Chemokines: Keys to Controlling Liver Cancer Metastasis?

REFERENCE: American Association for Cancer Research 97th Annual Meeting April 1-5, 2006, Washington DC. Abstract 406Carl Christophe Schimanski, University of MainzThe chemokine in the human body known as CXCR4 might be an omnipresent inductor of the metastatic process, according toCarl Schimanskiwho presented data on CXCR4 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma biopsies and related it to metastatic tumor properties in patients. He told the AACR conference that the recent availability of chemokine antagonists holds out the promise of modulating metastasis and extending patient survival.