Antiangiogenic agents in combination with chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Cancer Invest. 2011 May;29(4):325-37

Authors: Ulahannan SV, Brahmer JR

Most patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) present with advanced disease requiring systemic chemotherapy. Treatment with the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab in combination with standard platinum-based doublet chemotherapy has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with advanced NSCLC. Several multitargeted antiangiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g., sorafenib, sunitinib, cediranib, vandetanib, BIBF 1120, pazopanib, and axitinib) are also being evaluated in combination with standard chemotherapy. Here we review current clinical data with combination therapy involving antiangiogenic agents and cytotoxic chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC.

PMID: 21469981 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Targeting the growth factors and angiogenesis pathways: small molecules in solid tumors.

J Surg Oncol. 2011 May 1;103(6):574-86

Authors: Berz D, Wanebo H

Research over the last decades has provided us with a better understanding of the biology of solid tumors. In some solid tumor malignancies single molecular events leading to malignant transformation have been identified, whilst in others multiple pathways seem to play a role simultaneously. The delineation of such pathways has led to the identification of therapeutic targets. Multiple compounds are available now to treat those molecular aberrations. With the wider use of newer biologic therapies, the understanding of biologic characteristics predicting a clinical response has broadened. This review focuses on the clinical management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors as well as hepatocellular, non small cell lung, renal cell and breast cancer with small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors, integrating some of the clinical advances with monoclonal antibody therapies in solid tumor malignancies. It highlights recent advances in relevant biomarkers to predict efficacy of biologic therapies and elaborates on their relevance in the clinical management of patients with solid tumor malignancies.

PMID: 21480252 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

State smoke-free laws for worksites, restaurants, and bars--United States, 2000-2010.

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2011 Apr 22;60(15):472-5

Authors:

Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure causes lung cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in nonsmoking adults and children, resulting in an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths and 3,400 lung cancer deaths among U.S. nonsmoking adults each year. Smoke-free laws that prohibit smoking in all indoor areas of a venue fully protect nonsmokers from involuntary exposure to SHS indoors. A Healthy People 2010 objective (27-13) called for enacting laws eliminating smoking in public places and worksites in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC); because this objective was not met by 2010, it was retained for Healthy People 2020 (renumbered as TU-13). To assess progress toward meeting this objective, CDC reviewed state laws restricting smoking in effect as of December 31, 2010. This report summarizes the changes in state smoking restrictions for private-sector worksites, restaurants, and bars that occurred from December 31, 2000 to December 31, 2010. The number of states (including DC) with laws that prohibit smoking in indoor areas of worksites, restaurants, and bars increased from zero in 2000 to 26 in 2010. However, regional disparities remain in policy adoption, with no southern state having adopted a smoke-free law that prohibits smoking in all three venues. The Healthy People 2020 target on this topic is achievable if current activity in smoke-free policy adoption is sustained nationally and intensified in certain regions, particularly the South.

PMID: 21508923 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

A phase 2 study of irinotecan, cisplatin, and simvastatin for untreated extensive-disease small cell lung cancer.

Cancer. 2011 May 15;117(10):2178-85

Authors: Han JY, Lim KY, Yu SY, Yun T, Kim HT, Lee JS

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of simvastatin in combination with irinotecan and cisplatin in chemotherapy-naive patients with extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC).

PMID: 21523731 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]