Neratinib, an Irreversible ErbB Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, in Patients With Advanced ErbB2-Positive Breast Cancer
Harold J. Burstein et al, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Feb 8 2010

• Oral neratinib 240 mg once daily. The 16-week PFS rates were 59% for patients with prior trastuzumab treatment and 78% for patients with no prior trastuzumab treatment. Median PFS was 22.3 and 39.6 weeks, respectively. Objective response rates were 24% among patients with prior trastuzumab treatment and 56% in the trastuzumab-naïve cohort.
• 50% of patients had bad diarrhoea

Journal of Clinical Oncology

Safety, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary activity of the anti-IGF-1R antibody figitumumab (CP-751,871) in patients with sarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma: a phase 1 expansion cohort study
David Olmos et al, The Lancet Oncology, February 2010

• Figitumumab 20 mg/kg every 3 weeks. 28 patients were assessed for response; two patients, both with Ewing's sarcoma, had objective responses (one complete response and one partial response) and eight patients had disease stabilisation (six with Ewing's sarcoma, one with synovial sarcoma, and one with fibrosarcoma) lasting 4 months or longer.
• New hopes for Ewing sarcoma but…it is crucial to identify the subset of patients likely to respond

The Lancet Oncology

Long-Term Results of Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer
Timothy J. Whelan et al, New England Journal of Medicine, February 11 2010

• Study to determine whether a hypofractionated 3-week schedule (42.5 Gy) of whole-breast irradiation (50 Gy) is as effective as a 5-week schedule. The risk of local recurrence at 10 years was 6.7% among the 612 women assigned to standard irradiation as compared with 6.2% among the 622 women assigned to the hypofractionated regimen.
• More is not always better….

New England Journal of Medicine

Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Are Activated in Incipient Neoplasia to Orchestrate Tumor-Promoting Inflammation in an NF-κB-Dependent Manner
Neta Erez et al, Cancer Cell, 17, 2, February 2010

• Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) support tumorigenesis by stimulating angiogenesis, cancer cell proliferation, and invasion. Study demonstrated that CAFs also mediate tumor-enhancing inflammation. Showed that normal dermal fibroblasts can be ‘‘educated’’ by carcinoma cells to express proinflammatory genes.
• La mala educación of Cancer-associated fibroblasts ….

Cell