Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology

In this issue of the Chinese Journal of Cancer, European, American, and Chinese experts review the current management and future perspectives of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), the leading cause of gynecological cancer deaths. Although major advances have been made in understanding the cellular and molecular biology of this highly heterogeneous malignancy, the survival rate of women with EOC has changed little since the introduction of platinum-based treatment as a front-line therapy. The papers describe the progress in deciphering the molecular complexity of this disease and the newly available molecular-driven therapies, which have been applied by shifting trial designs toward restricting eligibility to specific subgroups of patients rather than testing agents in unselected populations. These new trial designs provide potential opportunities for improved efficacy in targeted populations. Given the molecular complexity of this disease, patient survival may be increased by searching for new molecular prognostic/predictive signatures as well as by translating the recent insight of microRNA involvement in EOC progression into new, targeted therapies. Particular attention has been given to the issue of fertility sparing for women affected by curable diseases.
Female ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; physiology ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics

Humans ; Medical Oncology ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Pharmacogenetics ; methods

Oncologists and scientists in the field of head and neck cancer exchanged their research findings and clinical experiences in the Sino-USA Symposium on Head and Neck Cancer, which was held January 6-7, 2012 in Guangzhou, China. The symposium was jointly organized by Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). The Guangdong Provincial Anti-Cancer Association and the Chinese Journal of Cancer also helped in organizing the conference. Speakers were from China (SYSUCC, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center) and the United States (MDACC). The presentations covered most kinds of head and neck cancers and included both basic and clinical research progress. In particular, NPC was discussed in depth. The symposium explored the reality that cancer is complex and numerous questions remain to be answered, even though there has already been an enormous effort into research. International exchanges of experience and in-depth cooperation are definitely needed to improve our capability of caring for cancer patients. In this article, we provide highlights of the presentations.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; etiology ; genetics ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; therapy ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; epidemiology

Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; standards ; Mutation ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology

Recently, targeted therapy has achieved great success in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Mesenchymal to epithelial transition factor (MET) is considered to be another important molecular target for NSCLC since epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). Accumulating clinical trials and case reports have confirmed that MET inhibitors exhibited a potential prospect in treating patients with MET 14 exon skipping alterations, suggesting that MET 14 exon skipping mutation might be an effective biomarker for MET inhibitors, which remains to be confirmed by more clinical data. This review summarizes current research about the molecular mechanism, clinicopathological characterization, treatment strategies and drug resistance mechanisms of MET 14 exon skipping alterations in NSCLC.
.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Exons ; genetics ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Mutation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met ; genetics

In recent years, series of driver genes, such as EGFR, KRAS/NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, ALK and ROS1 and so on, have been found in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) one after another with the development of molecular detecting technology. Targeted drugs bring benefits for these NSCLC patients with driver gene variations. However, some NSCLC did not have any known driver gene variations; we called it pan-negative lung cancer. In this paper, we summarize the concept, clinical pathological characteristics, the epidemiological characteristics, treatment and prognosis of pan-negative NSCLC.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Mutation ; Prognosis

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Genes, ras ; genetics ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; methods ; Mutation ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; ras Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Personalising cancer treatment to optimise therapeutic efficacy while minimising exposure to the toxicities of ineffective drugs is the holy grail of medical oncology. Clinical parameters and conventional histopathological characterisations of cancers are no longer adequate to guide the practising oncologists in treatment planning. The explosion of knowledge in cancer molecular biology has led to the availability of tumour-specific molecules that serve as predictive and prognostic markers. In breast cancer, HER-2 positivity is a good predictor for success of anti-HER-2 trastuzumab monoclonal antibody therapy. K-ras mutational status predicts the likelihood of response to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies in advanced colorectal cancers. Similarly, EGFR mutational status in pulmonary adenocarcinoma is highly predictive for responses or otherwise to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Notwithstanding our deeper understanding of tumour biology and the availability of predictive and prognostic laboratory tools, we are still far from achieving our dream of the perfect personalised cancer treatment, as each tumour in a particular patient is unique to itself. A much coveted, real-time, anti-tumour drug sensitivity testing in the future may one day pave the way for truly treating the right tumour with the right drug in the right patient.
Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; Genomics ; methods ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Prognosis

Mutation of c-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) is the most important molecular feature of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Mutation detection of these two genes is of great significance when establishing the diagnosis of a kit-negative GIST, or when predicting response to tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Furthermore, more and more researches focus on the feasibility of the mutation status using as a prognostic factor in recent years.
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Humans ; Mutation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; genetics ; Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha ; genetics