© 2006 European Society for Medical Oncology
editorials |
KISS: the 2006 Annals of Oncology prizes
(Editor-in-Chief), Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Introduction |
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 Top Introduction Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...References |
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A few people have remarked on my tendency to drop untranslated Latin expressions into these editorials [1, 2]. While most people consider Latin an extinct language, I feel bound to point out that it is still the official language of one nation, the Vatican. Here in Oxford, where my business card and my letterhead bear a motto in Latin, where I can dine at Corpus Christi College with the Regius Professor of Medicine, Latin can also seem very much alive.
The main title of this editorial is for those who would feel less comfortable with William of Ockham's "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem." Would it be foolish of me, or just ironic, to offer a third variation on this theme—Einstein's oft-quoted remark that "everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler"?
In biomedical research we often talk about elegance, that combination of good luck, thoughtful experimental design and clear-sighted interpretation that we recognize as the best science. In cancer research we see increasingly that we are working with complex systems, from the molecular level to the global population level, where apparently simple interventions can have unintended and unexpected consequences. Under these circumstances elegance can be hard to find.
Given the increasing size of the novel cancer drug pipeline, generated by pharma, biotech and academic research and the potential for combination with each other and conventional chemotherapy, there is a staggering amount of clinical trial work needed to dissect the potential of these new agents for cancer treatment. We must introduce more lateral trial designs in order to speed up drug development, whilst protecting against the elimination of antineoplastic agents which may have low intrinsic activity but which synergise with other compounds in particular milieu's or clinical settings. I am intrigued by moving on from randomized phase II studies, which, rightly, when well designed are growing in popularity, to consider factorialised versions of this trial paradigm with multiple novel inhibitors being added to a conventional chemotherapy backbone. Perhaps an Annals prize awaits the first group to deliver such a study!
Which brings me back, I hope not too inelegantly, to the 2006 Annals of Oncology prizes. Our aim, as previously [3, 4], has been to reward and recognize those researchers who support the journal and strive with us to achieve excellence. Like our ongoing task of selecting articles for the monthly issues of Annals, only more so, the prizes are an attempt to recognize the best published articles in the categories of translational science, phase I, phase II and phase III studies. Our decisions consider the areas of innovation, scientific quality and potential impact on the field, the pillars upon which Annals of Oncology is founded. Unafraid to put ESMO's and OUP's money where our mouth is, we are backing up these judgments with cash prizes, with the author of the prizewinning article in each category receiving EUR 1000. Choosing just a few articles among the several hundred we have published over the last 2 years (in volumes 15 and 16) has been a tricky assignment but a rewarding one. I very much hope that you will be able to take the time to look back over these articles and will be able to agree with our judgments:
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Annals of Oncology Prize for translational science |
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TopIntroductionAnnals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...References |
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"Oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid of olive oil, suppresses Her-2/neu (erbB-2) expression and synergistically enhances the growth inhibitory effects of trastuzumab (HerceptinTM) in breast cancer cells with Her-2/neu oncogene amplification", by Menendez et al. [5].
Honourable mentions in this category go to "Soluble markers for the assessment of biological activity with PTK787/ZK 222584 (PTK/ZK), a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor in patients with advanced colorectal cancer from two phase I trials", by Drevs et al. [6]; and to "In vitro activity of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CYC202 (Seliciclib, R-roscovitine) in mantle cell lymphomas", by Lacrima et al. [7].
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Annals of Oncology Prize for phase I studies |
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TopIntroductionAnnals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...References |
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"A phase I study of the oral combination of CI-994, a putative histone deacetylase inhibitor, and capecitabine", by Undevia et al. [8].
Honourable mentions in this category go to "A phase I trial of a Bcl-2 antisense (G3139) and weekly docetaxel in patients with advanced breast cancer and other solid tumors", by Marshall et al. [9]; and to "Heated intra-operative intraperitoneal oxaliplatin plus irinotecan after complete resection of peritoneal carcinomatosis: pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and tolerance", by Elias et al. [10].
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Annals of Oncology Prize for phase II studies |
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TopIntroductionAnnals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...References |
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"Randomized phase II trial of gemcitabine-cisplatin with or without trastuzumab in HER2-positive non-small-cell lung cancer", by Gatzemeier et al. [11].
Honourable mentions must also go here to "A multicentre, randomised phase II study of weekly or 3-weekly docetaxel in patients with metastatic breast", by Tabernero et al. [12]; and to "paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy in elderly advanced breast cancer patients: a phase II study of the Gruppo Italiano di Oncologia Geriatrica (GIOGer) ", by Del Mastro et al. [13].
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Annals of Oncology Prize for Phase III studies |
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TopIntroductionAnnals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...References |
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"Randomised phase III study of intravenous vinorelbine plus hormone therapy versus hormone therapy alone in hormone-refractory prostate cancer ", by Abratt et al. [14].
Honourable mentions go to "Oxaliplatin plus high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil i.v. bolus (OXAFAFU) versus irinotecan plus high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil i.v. bolus (IRIFAFU) in patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma: a Southern Italy Cooperative Oncology Group phase III trial ", by Comella et al. [15]; and to "A randomised comparison between 6 months of bolus fluorouracil/leucovorin and 12 weeks of protracted venous infusion fluorouracil as adjuvant treatment in colorectal cancer", by Chau et al. [16].
I hope that you will all agree that these articles have made a great contribution to Annals. The challenge to young researchers is clear, strong translational science, innovative trial design and integration of pharmacodynamic endpoints, these are the pillars on which we should base our future.
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References |
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TopIntroductionAnnals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...Annals of Oncology Prize...References |
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1. Kerr DJ. (2002) Per ardua ad astra. Ann Oncol 13:7.
2. Kerr DJ. (2006) Concordia res parvae crescent. Ann Oncol 17:3–4.
3. Kerr DJ. (2002) Pride and judgement: the Annals of Oncology prizes. Ann Oncol 13:817–818.
4. Kerr DJ. (2004) A word in your ear: the 2004 Annals of Oncology prizes. Ann Oncol 15:1303–1304.
5. Menendez JA, Vellon L, Colomer R, Lupu R. (2005) Oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid of olive oil, suppresses Her-2/neu (erbB-2) expression and synergistically enhances the growth inhibitory effects of trastuzumab (HerceptinTM) in breast cancer cells with Her-2/neu oncogene amplification. Ann Oncol 16:359–371.
6. Drevs J, Zirrgiebel U, Schmidt-Gersbach CIM, et al. (2005) Soluble markers for the assessment of biological activity with PTK787/ZK 222584 (PTK/ZK), a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor in patients with advanced colorectal cancer from two phase I trials. Ann Oncol 16:558–565.
7. Lacrima K, Valentini A, Lambertini C, et al. (2005) In vitro activity of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CYC202 (Seliciclib, R-roscovitine) in mantle cell lymphomas. Ann Oncol 16:1169–1176.
8. Undevia SD, Kindler HL, Janisch L, et al. (2004) A phase I study of the oral combination of CI-994, a putative histone deacetylase inhibitor, and capecitabine. Ann Oncol 15:1705–1711.
9. Marshall J, Chen H, Yang D, et al. (2004) A phase I trial of a Bcl-2 antisense (G3139) and weekly docetaxel in patients with advanced breast cancer and other solid tumors. Ann Oncol 15:1274–1283.
10. Elias D, Sideris L, Pocard M, et al. (2004) Efficacy of intraperitoneal chemohyperthermia with oxaliplatin in colorectal peritoneal carcinomatosis. Preliminary results in 24 patients. Ann Oncol 15:781–785.
11. Gatzemeier U, Groth G, Butts C, et al. (2004) Randomized phase II trial of gemcitabine–cisplatin with or without trastuzumab in HER2-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. Ann Oncol 15:19–27.
12. Tabernero J, Climent MA, Lluch A, et al. (2004) A multicentre, randomised phase II study of weekly or 3-weekly docetaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Ann Oncol 15:1358–1365.
13. Del Mastro L, Perrone F, Repetto L, et al. (2005) Weekly paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy in elderly advanced breast cancer patients: a phase II study of the Gruppo Italiano di Oncologia Geriatrica (GIOGer). Ann Oncol 16:253–258.
14. Abratt RP, Brune D, Dimopoulos M-A. (2004) Randomised phase III study of intravenous vinorelbine plus hormone therapy versus hormone therapy alone in hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Ann Oncol 15:1613–1621.
15. Comella P, Massidda B, Filippelli G, et al. (2005) Oxaliplatin plus high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil i.v. bolus (OXAFAFU) versus irinotecan plus high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil i.v. bolus (IRIFAFU) in patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma: a Southern Italy Cooperative Oncology Group phase III trial. Ann Oncol 16:878–886.
16. Chau I, Norman AR, Cunningham D, et al. (2005) A randomised comparison between 6 months of bolus fluorouracil/leucovorin and 12 weeks of protracted venous infusion fluorouracil as adjuvant treatment in colorectal cancer. Ann Oncol 16:549–557.
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