Pegylated interferon alfa-2a for polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia resistant or intolerant to hydroxyurea

Prior studies have reported high response rates with recombinant interferon-a (rIFN-a) therapy in patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV). To further define the role of rIFN-a,we investigated the outcomes of pegylated-rIFN-a2a (PEG) therapy in ET and PV patients previously treated with hydroxyurea (HU). The Myeloproliferative Disorders Research Consortium (MPD-RC)-111 study was an investigator-initiated, international, multicenter, phase 2 trial evaluating the ability of PEG therapy to induce complete (CR) and partial (PR) hematologic responses in patients with high-risk ET or PVwho were either refractory or intolerant to HU. The study included 65 patients with ET and 50 patients with PV. The overall response rates (ORRs; CR/PR) at 12 monthswere 69.2%(43.1% and 26.2%) in ET patients and 60% (22% and 38%) in PV patients. CR rates were higher in CALR-mutated ET patients (56.5% vs 28.0%; P 5 .01), compared with those in subjects lacking a CALR mutation. The median absolute reduction in JAK2V617F variant allele fraction was 26% (range, 284%to 47%) in patients achieving a CR vs 14%(range, 218% to 56%) in patients with PR or nonresponse (NR). Therapy was associated with a significant rate of adverse events (AEs); most were manageable, and PEG discontinuation related to AEs occurred in only 13.9% of subjects. We conclude that PEG is an effective therapy for patients with ET or PV who were previously refractory and/or intolerant of HU

Personalized medicine and treatment approaches in non-small-cell lung carcinoma

Joseph Vadakara, Hossein BorghaeiFox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USAAbstract: Chemotherapy has been the traditional backbone for the management of metastatic lung cancer. Multiple trials have shown the benefits of treatment with platinum doublets in lung cancer. This “one treatment fits all” approach was further refined by the introduction of targeted agents and discovery of subpopulations of patients who benefited from treatment with these agents. It has also become evident that certain histologic subtypes of non-small-cell lung cancer respond better to one cytotoxic chemotherapy versus others. This has led to the concept of using histology to guide therapy. With the introduction of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors and the discovery of activating mutations in the EGFR gene, further personalization of treatment for subgroups of patients has become a reality. More recently, the presence of a fusion gene, echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 – anaplastic lymphoma kinase (EML4-ALK), was identified as the driver mutation in yet another subgroup of patients, and subsequent studies have led to approval of crizotinib in this group of patients. In this article, efforts in personalizing delivery of care based on the histological subtypes of lung cancer and the role of K-RAS and EGFR mutations, EML4/ALK translocation, and ERCC1 (excision repair cross-complementing 1) and EGFR expression in choosing appropriate treatments for patients with advanced lung cancer are discussed. This article also reviews the problem of resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors and the ongoing trials that target novel pathways and mechanisms that are implicated in resistance.Keywords: NSCLC, EGFR, cancer treatmen

A comprehensive review of the preclinical efficacy profile of the ErbB family blocker afatinib in cancer.

Afatinib (also known as BIBW 2992) has recently been approved in several countries for the treatment of a distinct type of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. This manuscript comprehensively reviews the preclinical data on afatinib, an irreversible inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase activity of members of the epidermal growth factor receptor family (ErbB) including EGFR, HER2 and ErbB4. Afatinib covalently binds to cysteine 797 of the EGFR and the corresponding cysteines 805 and 803 in HER2 and ErbB4, respectively. Such covalent binding irreversibly inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of these receptors, resulting in reduced auto- and transphosphorylation within the ErbB dimers and inhibition of important steps in the signal transduction of all ErbB receptor family members. Afatinib inhibits cellular growth and induces apoptosis in a wide range of cells representative for non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck squamous cell cancer and several other cancer types exhibiting abnormalities of the ErbB network. This translates into tumour shrinkage in a variety of in vivo rodent models of such cancers. Afatinib retains inhibitory effects on signal transduction and in vitro and in vivo cancer cell growth in tumours resistant to reversible EGFR inhibitors, such as those exhibiting the T790M mutations. Several combination treatments have been explored to prevent and/or overcome development of resistance to afatinib, the most promising being those with EGFR- or HER2-targeted antibodies, other tyrosine kinase inhibitors or inhibitors of downstream signalling molecules