Table of contents
October 2008 Volume 5 No 10
Editorial
Radiation oncology health technology assessment—the best is the enemy of the good
563doi:10.1038/ncponc1203 | Full Text | PDF (134K)
Research Highlights
Nonmyeloablative stem-cell transplantation can induce long-term remission in relapsed FL
564Salvage radiotherapy improves survival in men with recurrence after radical prostatectomy
564Chromosomal instability confers poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer
564Small molecule JAK2 inhibitor is effective in murine model of polycythemia vera
565High-dose conformal RT improves tumor control in patients with prostate cancer
565Preoperative chemoradiation in addition to preoperative chemotherapy in stage III NSCLC
566Vitamin D concentration does not affect the risk of prostate cancer
566Practice Points
The ROC 'n' role of the multiplex assay for early detection of ovarian cancer
568doi:10.1038/ncponc1214 | Full Text | PDF (164K)
Choosing a taxane for adjuvant treatment of breast cancer: more than a flip of the coin?
570doi:10.1038/ncponc1215 | Full Text | PDF (157K)
Should surgery followed by whole-brain radiation therapy be the standard treatment for single brain metastasis?
572doi:10.1038/ncponc1217 | Full Text | PDF (159K)
Viewpoint
Intermittent androgen blockade should be regarded as standard therapy in prostate cancer
574Over 80% of men with advanced prostate cancer respond to standard treatment with continuous androgen deprivation therapy. Most of these patients, however, go on to develop androgen resistance and disease progression. The authors of this Viewpoint propose that intermittent androgen deprivation should be the standard therapy in advanced prostate cancer.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1180 | Full Text | PDF (175K)
Reviews
Gene-expression profiling in epithelial ovarian cancer
577In epithelial ovarian cancer, gene-expression profiling has been used to provide prognostic information, to predict response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, and to discriminate between different histologic subtypes. The authors of this Review summarize the contributions of gene-expression profiling to the diagnosis and management of epithelial ovarian cancer and discuss ways in which this technique could become a useful tool in clinical management.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1178 | Full Text | PDF (621K)
Strategies for discovering novel cancer biomarkers through utilization of emerging technologies
588Technologies such as mass spectrometry, and protein and DNA arrays, have enabled simultaneous examination of thousands of proteins and genes, giving opportunities to identify distinguishing signatures for cancer diagnosis and classification and prediction of therapeutic response. The authors provide an overview of how the current cancer biomarkers were discovered and their associated limitations, discuss the utilization of these emerging technologies, and review their potential to revolutionize biomarker discovery.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1187 | Full Text | PDF (663K)
Mechanisms of Disease: survival benefit of temsirolimus validates a role for mTOR in the management of advanced RCC
601Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is an important and clinically relevant therapeutic target. Temsirolimus has significantly improved overall survival rates in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, thereby validating the importance of mTOR in the natural history of this disease. This Review discusses the clinical development of temsirolimus, its novel mechanism of action, and the investigational strategies for targeting mTOR in other tumor types.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1173 | Full Text | PDF (367K)
Mechanisms of Disease: signal transduction in lung carcinogenesis—a comparison of smokers and never-smokers
610Our understanding of the pathogenesis of tobacco-related lung carcinogenesis is improving but the molecular mechanisms of neoplastic transformation in never-smokers have not yet been elucidated. Mountzios et al. describe the best characterized signaling pathways that are implicated in the transduction of proliferative signals, and discuss the differences in the molecular characteristics of smokers and never-smokers.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1181 | Full Text | PDF (325K)
Case Study
The impact of histopathologic diagnosis on the proper management of testis neoplasms
619Testicular germ-cell cancer is the most common solid malignancy affecting males in puberty and adulthood. Ponti et al. report the case of a 45-year-old man who was initially misdiagnosed with stage I seminoma, developed brain metastases and finally died. Pathology review showed large B-cell lymphoma in the primary tumor. The authors underline the need for accurate histology review in testicular tumors with unusual clinical features.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1218 | Full Text | PDF (492K)
