Foreword
Leonard Girnita is Associate Professor of Pathology in the Department of Oncology/Pathology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. He is also a specialist in pathology at St Eriks Eye Hospital in Stockholm. His research career has been entirely in cancer research, including translational and basic research, support of clinical and pre-clinical studies on breast cancer, melanoma, uveal melanoma and soft-tissue sarcomas, as well as a drug discovery programme on insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor in cancer. His specific interests include receptor-mediated cell signaling in cancer, with focus on the crosstalk between different classes of receptors. Dr Girnita is the principal investigator of several ongoing studies targeting cell-signalling mechanisms in cancer treatment. He is an associate editor and/or reviewer for several journals in the fields of cancer research and endocrinology. He is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR), the Growth Hormone Research and IGF Societies, and the European Ophthalmic Pathology Society (EOPS).
W
elcome to this edition of European Oncology & Haematology. Following the successful previous editions, this issue features salient and informative topics reflecting the diversity of challenges facing oncologists, healthcare professionals and patients. A series of articles that discuss and review many important issues relevant to oncologists and physicians throughout Europe are included in this issue.
In the ‘Supportive Oncology’ section, Nalân Utku discusses the present and the future of cytotoxic drugs. In the era of targeted therapy in cancer, “The end of cytotoxics?” might be seen as a rhetorical question. Yet, all is not lost for cytotoxic drugs and, based on the huge clinical and experimental data, new lines of cytostatic drugs, which are more effective and have fewer side effects, are being developed.
Tony Hung and Richard S Finn review, in the ‘Gastrointestinal Oncology’ section, the use of targeted therapies in the management of advanced stage hepatocellular carcinoma and consider its benefits, challenges and potential improvements.
In the ‘Gynaecological Oncology’ section, Channa E Schmeink et al. discuss the dynamics of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer screening, highlighting the fact that, in addition to the clinically validated HPV test, HPV dynamics should be taken into account. As a result of the introduction of the HPV vaccine, it is expected that the incidence of cervical carcinoma will decrease in the near future, which in turn will change the positive predictive value of cervical cancer screening.
Adil Ouzzane and Arnauld Villers discuss the use of imaging in prostate cancer diagnosis, taking into consideration that, during the last decades, low-grade urothelial neoplasms have become a separate entity, characterised by a high recurrence rate although with a low invasive or life-threatening potential. Their review provides advice for daily practice based on the latest European Association of Urology (EAU) and International Consultation on Urological Diseases (ICUD) guidelines. The ‘Prostate Cancer’ section continues with an article examining the management of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The author, Emmanuel S Antonarakis, reviews “the evolving landscape of treatment options for men with CRPC” and explores the current and emerging therapy options, with discussion of the recent advances seen in this particular field.
This edition continues with an insightful article on the role of monoclonal antibody-purified plasma-derived factor IX in the treatment of haemophilia B, by Massimo Morfini and Wolfhart Kreuz, and concludes with a section containing two very useful articles on infectious complications in cancer patients.
European Oncology & Haematology would like to thank everyone involved for successfully providing these interesting and informative expert discussions on a variety of oncological topics that warrant our debate, time and attention. We would like to thank the organisations, media partners and Editorial Board for their continued support, and also extend our gratitude to the individual authors for their time and effort, which has resulted in a selection of excellent articles. We trust you will find this edition an informative and enjoyable read. n
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© TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2011
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