Clinical Trials with Novel Compounds from Germany

I wanted to share with you another novel clinical trial using a compound targeting two receptors on tumor cells. Both receptors we know very well: one is HER2, the target for Herceptin, and the other one is EGFR, the target for Erbitux.

One compound targeting both receptors is on the market known as Tykerb® (lapatinib) which is approved for breast cancer patients in combination with Xeloda® (capecitabine). Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on July 28th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | No Comments »
Tags: Knowing About Clinical Trials, lapatinib, Understanding Genetics, Xeloda

Novel Therapeutics: We’re Getting Smarter About Who and With What to Treat

You may have heard the very exciting data about patients with breast cancer who carry BRCA mutations. These mutations indicate a genetic predisposition for breast cancer.

The function of BRCA is DNA repair, very similar to the genes associated with familial colorectal cancer known as Lynch syndrome or HNPCC (hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer) which are the DNA mismatch repair genes. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on July 26th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 2 Comments »
Tags: clinical trials, Knowing About Clinical Trials, PARP inhibitors, Understanding Genetics

Dr. Lenz: Genetic Signature Not Helpful to Predict Recurrence in Clinical Practice

At ASCO 2009 Dr. David Kerr from the United Kingdom presented data on a genetic signature which is associated with tumor recurrence in stage II colon cancer. However these data are not even close to being clinically meaningful.

These data have been discussed by Kate Murphy. However I wanted to follow up with the significance of the data. To increase the risk of recurrence from 12% to 22% is not in any way or form helpful in the clinic, particularly because this outcome is independent of treatment effect. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on June 25th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | No Comments »
Tags: ASCO 2009, genetic signature, recurrence risk, Understanding Genetics

MSI in Stage II Colon Cancer: Chemotherapy or Not?

Some of the most interesting data presented at ASCO was the data on MSI and 18qLOH in a European clinical trial.

Last year at ASCO, Dr. Daniel Sargent presented new data that patients with stage II disease with microsatellite instability do not only not benefit from 5-FU, but they may be harmed, and it was recommended to test for MSI in all stage II colon cancer patients and in the presence of MSI-high not to give 5-FU. For stage III colon cancer that was not the case.

This year, the PETACC-3 clinical trial was analyzed for MSI and did not show the same the same findings. It seems that chemotherapy does not harm these patients, and they may benefit. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on June 8th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 4 Comments »
Tags: 18qLOH, ASCO 2009, MSI, personalized medicine, Understanding Genetics

KRAS and Beyond

I am on my flight back from ASCO, the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, where over 20,000 oncologists from around the world discuss the newest data in clinical and translational research. This year’s theme was personalized oncology care. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on June 4th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 18 Comments »
Tags: ASCO 2009, biomarkers, Understanding Genetics