Researchers have developed a lung “metagene” model that accurately predicts the risk of recurrence for patients diagnosed with early-stage (IA) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results published in the August 9 New England Journal of Medicine.

Previous studies have shown the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for patients with later stages of NSCLC, but not for stage IA disease. However, about 25 percent of patients in that stage subsequently have a recurrence, suggesting a need to identify a subgroup that might benefit from adjuvant drug treatment, noted the researchers, led by Dr. Anil Potti of the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy at Duke University.  Read more  

Breaking News Today, President George W. Bush announced his intention to appoint Dr. John E. Niederhuber as NCI Director. A nationally renowned surgeon and cancer researcher, Dr. Niederhuber joined NCI in September 2005 as chief operating officer and deputy director for translational and clinical sciences, and was named acting director in June 2006. Additional biographical information can be found at http://www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/directorscorner/jen.

There is much excitement in the cancer research community about the rapid discovery of biomarkers. These discoveries range from protein signatures that may predict recurrence or response to therapy, to new imaging technologies that measure the extent of drug-target interactions. The combination of these types of biomarker discoveries with studies that are demonstrating the predictive prowess of gene-expression profiles, like the one highlighted in this week's lead story, is generating tremendous optimism about the future of personalized oncology care.

Of course, advanced technologies have significantly improved our ability to discover potential biomarkers. But biomarker discovery is only the beginning. The harder part is to qualify or validate the biomarker - that is, conduct the clinical studies and develop the correlative data that definitively describe the precise clinical meaning of a given biomarker in a specific situation.  Read more  

The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov. NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.