PARP Inhibitors The Talk Of ASCO

From The Cancer Letter, June 5, 2009:

A new class of drugs called PARP inhibitors demonstrated promising results in small studies in breast cancer, but generated a large amount of excitement among cancer specialists gathered at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla., earlier this week.

The excitement is due to the ability of PARP inhibitors to block two pathways by which cancer cells can repair themselves following chemotherapy and radiotherapy. “I think this is a field that’s
going to explode within the next year or two, and I hope it’s something we are prepared for,” said Merrill Egorin, professor of medicine and pharmacology at University of Pittsburgh.

Also in the ASCO plenary session, results of the first trial of Avastin (bevacizumab) for colon cancer in the adjuvant setting showed a statistically significant improvement in disease-free survival for the first year, which corresponded with the duration of the therapy. However, there was disagreement about whether the small benefit and high cost would justify longer-term therapy.

For the full stories, and other cancer-related news of the week, click on The Cancer Letter Archive at left to read the June 5 issue (subscription or day pass required). _____
tags: clinical trials|  cooperative groups|  drug development