Sunday, May 15, 2005

OncoLink coverage of the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 13-17, 2005, in Orlando, FL. OncoLink reporters provide in-depth, up-to-the-minute coverage of sessions and presentations.

OncoLink's Editor-in-Chief, Dr. James Metz
Nutritional attitudes of recently diagnosed cancer patients

A phase I study of erlotinib and bevacizumab for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNC). Presenter: E.E.VokesPresenter's Affiliation: National Cancer InstituteType of Session: ScientificBackground Recurrent or metastatic HNC is a challenging clinical problem. With conventional chemotherapy, Response Rate (RR) is < 30% and...
BIG 1-98: Randomized double-blind phase III study to evaluate letrozole (L) vs. tamoxifen (T) as adjuvant endocrine therapy for post-menopausal women with receptor-positive breast cancer. Presenter: B.J. ThurlimannPresenter's Affiliation: BIG 1-98 Collaborative, Bern, SwitzerlandType of Session: ScientificBackground Letrozole is a drug in a class of medications known as aromatase inhibitors, which almost completely inhibit...
Chromosome arm 11q deletion predicts for neuroblastoma outcome: A Children's Oncology Group study Presenter: E.F. AttiyehPresenter's Affiliation: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, COGType of Session: PlenaryBackground Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common malignancy of infants The least amount of treatment required to produce equivalent...
Correlation of target kinase genotype with clinical activity of imatinib mesylate (IM) in patients with metastatic GI stromal tumors (GISTs) expressing KIT (KIT+) Presenter: M.C. HeinrichPresenter's Affiliation: OHSU Cancer InstituteType of Session: PlenaryBackground Most GISTs express constitutively activated mutant isoforms of KIT. These are therapeutic targets for IM (Gleevec). The magnitude...
Hematologic and cytogenetic (CTG) response to lenalidomide (CC-5031) in patients with transfusion-dependent (TD) myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and chromosome 5q31 deletion: Results of the multicenter MDS-003 Study. Presenter: A.F. ListPresenter's Affiliation: Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FloridaType of Session: PlenaryBackground The most common cytogenetic abnormality in patients with transfusion dependent myelodysplastic syndrome...
Impact of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) on salivary gland function in early-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients: a prospective randomized study. Presenter: M.K. KamPresenter's Affiliation: Prince of Wales HospitalType of Session: ScientificBackground In early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma, local control approaches 90% with radiation therapy alone. Unfortunately, 50-80% of these...
Integration of Gefitinib into a Concurrent Chemoradiation Regimen Followed by Gefitinib Adjuvant Therapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer: A Phase II Trial Presenter: E.E.W. CohenPresenter's Affiliation: University of ChicagoType of Session: ScientificBackground At the University of Chicago, a series of sequential phase II trials have established induction carboplatin and paclitaxel x 2 cycles...
Natural history of prostate cancer in a large cohort of untreated patients in the United Kingdom Presenter: M.W. KattanPresenter's Affiliation: Transatlantic Prostate GroupType of Session: ScientificBackground The natural history of untreated prostate cancer is not well understood This is especially true, as no studies have addressed this in...
Phase III results of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) versus "wait and see" (WS) in patients with pT3 prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy (RP) (ARO 96-02/AUO AP 09/95) Presenter: T WeigelPresenter's Affiliation: University Hospital Ulm, AROType of Session: ScientificBackground A common treatment for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer is a radical prostatectomy, often with excellent results Disease outside...
Statins to reduce breast cancer risk: A case control study in U.S. female veterans. Presenter: R. KochharPresenter's Affiliation: VA Medical Center, Shreveport, LouisianaType of Session: ScientificBackground Statins (HMG CoA reducatse inhibitors) are a widely studied, effective class of medications used to lower cholesterol in an...
Two Phase III Clinical Studies of Cevimeline for Post-Radiation Xerostomia in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer Presenter: M.S. ChambersPresenter's Affiliation: MD Anderson Cancer CenterType of Session: ScientificBackground A majority of patients with head and neck cancers receive treatment with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Reduction in salivary flow...