October 2007

A collection of cancer statistics and facts

Treatment advances focus on the potential use of Bortezomib and Lenalidomide in the front-line setting to improve patients' response rates.

Identifying head and neck cancer patients who possess the FcyR genotype may help predict whether they will respond to monoclonal antibodies, which work by killing cancer cells bearing epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) on their surface.

Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Bad News for Health Plans: MRIs Gain in Breast Cancer Detection 2) Do Terminally Ill Patients Have a Right to Receive Unproven Drugs? 3) Benefits of HPV Vaccine Still Unclear, but Time Will Tell 4) Updated Kidney Cancer Guidelines Focus on Medication Revisions and more

The Clinical Trials reported include: PHASE III: 1) Is Combination or Sequential Treatment for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer More Effective? 2) Cervical Cancer Vaccines Do Not Work Like Investigational Cancer Vaccines, Study Confirms 3) Docetaxel to Improve Clinical and Quality of Life Improvement in the Treatment of Advanced Gastric or Gastroesophageal Cancer, and more

Physicians' Financial News focuses on newsworthy and/or notable companies in the oncology/biotech sector. In this issue:1) Genentech: Continues to Grow Oncology Portfolio2) ImClone: Erbitux News Initially Raise ImClone Shares3) AstraZeneca: Prostate Drug Enters Phase II4) Kiadis Pharma: One Blood Cancer Treatment Clears Phase II Hurdles, Another May Hit Market By 20095) Big Pharma Stocks Show Signs of Life

Clinical trial abstracts from Italy, Canada, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, and China

The first annual 2007 Cancer Symposium, held September 7-8 in San Francisco, provided an opportunity for members of the oncology community to discuss major developments in breast cancer treatment and research.

An oral therapy currently utilized in the treatment of advanced kidney cancer may be on the threshold of obtaining a major new indication.

In 2007, more than 240,000 persons will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer and nearly 41,000 will die from the disease. Although survival rates have shown significant improvement over the past several decades, breast cancer continues to be the second most common cause of cancer death in women.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the US. At the12th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), the world%u2019s top lung cancer specialists convened to present and discuss the latest research in this disease. Key themes included accurate targets, new combinations of drugs to reduce toxicity, and strategies to improve outcomes.

Oncology & Biotech News provides updates from major oncology meetings because symposia remain an important means for disseminating new data. This issue, we highlight two important meetings: 2007 Breast Cancer Symposium (in San Francisco) and the World Conference on Lung Cancer (in Korea).