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Evangelos Terpos, University of Athens

Big improvements in survival among patients with multiple myeloma were reported at the European Hematology Association annual congress in Barcelona by Greek researchers looking at the past decade of therapy with the novel agents: thalidomide, lenalidomide and bortezomib in the “real world” setting. Professor Evangelos Terpos from the University of Athens discusses his groups findings on bone metabolism under novel agent therapy and assesses the impact of these drugs on survival among patients in Greece.

Gilles Salles, University of Lyon

Patients in the PRIMA study who had achieved remissions for their follicular lymphoma by means of immunochemotherapy had only half the risk of recurrence if they also received maintenance therapy with rituximab for two years compared with those who did not. Gilles Salles from the University of Lyon discussed his findings with Peter Goodwin during the 2010 European Hematology Association annual congress in Barcelona.

Richard Sullivan

Richard Sullivan at ECCO15-ESMO34 on the need for cancer research which is more trans-national and for a Global Cancer Fund to prioritize prevention, surgical innovation, and more creative, outward branching research strategies to probe mechanisms such as metastasis.

Mieke Van Hemelrijck

Mieke Van Hemelrijck at ECCO15-ESMO34 on findings that cardiovascular mortality from heart failure and arrhythmia in addition to ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction increased among patients treated with endocrine therapy—of whatever type—for their prostate cancer.

Cornelis van de Velde

Cornelis van de Velde at ECCO15-ESMO34 on the largest comparison of an aromatase inhibitor with tamoxifen as initial adjuvant therapy for patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer–analysis of results from the TEAM (Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational) study reported at ECCO15-ESMO34.

John Burn

John Burn talking at ECCO15-ESMO34 in Berlin about his international study showing that aspirin prevented the development of Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colon Cancer in people genetically at risk for the disease.

Charles Coombes

Charles Coombes at ECCO15-ESMO34 on the Intergroup Exemestane Study showing a big increase in survival for patients with early breast cancer randomized to have their adjuvant therapy switched to exemestane after 2-3 years of tamoxifen, compared with those who remained on tamoxifen for the entire 5 years of endocrine therapy.

Norman Wolmark

Norman Wolmark on the study’s frustrating but unequivocal results showing that bevacizumab did not extend disease-free survival in adjuvant therapy for early colon cancer at 3 years, even though there had been a benefit at 1 year. Also weighing in: Nicholas Petrelli.

Éveline Boucher

BARCELONA, SPAIN—Adding cetuximab to gemcitabine/oxaliplatin (GEMOX) chemotherapy controlled disease among two thirds of patients with advanced biliary cancer in a trial reported at the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer. Éveline Boucher from the Centre Eugene Marquis, in Rennes, France, presented preliminary findings from a phase II open-label study among 101 patients who had not already received palliative treatment for their advanced biliary cancers, and had WHO performance status 0-1.
She discussed her team’s findings with Peter Goodwin.

Michel Ducreux

Adding the oral drug capecitabine to a regimen of bevacizumab plus irinotecan was as effective as adding infusions of 5FU/folinic acid for patients who had metastatic colorectal cancer in a phase II study presented to the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona (24-27 June, 2009; Abstract: 0-0013). Michel Ducreux, Head of the Gastrointestinal Service at the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, Paris, discussed the new evidence and its clinical implications with Peter Goodwin.

Eric Raymond

Treatment of advanced pancreatic islet cell tumors with sunitinib has doubled progression-free survival in patients whose options have been very limited up to now, according to French researchers reporting their phase III randomized study findings at the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona (24-27 June, 2009; ABSTRACT: 0-0013). Eric Raymond from Beaujon University Hospital, Villejuif, France, gave Peter Goodwin his clinical interpretation of the findings.

John S. Macdonald MD FACP

11th Annual Palm Beach Cancer Symposium (April 3-4, 2009 Hollywood, Florida)—Peter Goodwin interviews John Macdonald, Chief Medical Officer of Aptium Oncology in Los Angeles about his data on the relevance of KRAS tumor status to the choice of molecular therapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Whether the gene is wild-type or mutant determines sensitivity of the tumor to anti-epidermal growth factor or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor therapy. Dr Macdonald also discusses the disappointing finding that blocking both of these proliferation pathways does not lead to improved efficacy when two targeted drugs are used in combination.