Richard Marais (Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, UK) finds that circulating cell-free DNA is a surrogate marker of tumour burden in patients with metastatic melanoma. He tells Helen Saul that a simple blood test could predict overall survival.
Eric Lim (Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, London, UK) finds that lung cancer among never-smokers is increasing dramatically. He tells Helen Saul that if trends continue, never-smokers diagnosed with lung cancer could outnumber smokers within the next 10 years.
Yolande Lievens (Ghent University Hospital, Belgium) finds that radiotherapy is underutilised even in Belgium, one of the best-resourced countries in Europe. She discusses with Helen Saul a collaborative project involving the Belgium Cancer Registry and the College for Physicians in Radiation Oncology.
Radiotherapy access in Belgium: How far are we from evidence-based utilisation?
Simon Pernot (Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou, Paris France) says that circulating tumour cells may be a valuable prognostic biomarker in advanced gastric cancer. He tells Helen Saul that the new results could improve the management of treatment.
Charles Ferté (Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France) says novel immunotherapy agents show atypical activity patterns such as pseudoprogression which make for challenging decisions in the clinic and in trials. He tells Helen Saul that the new iRECIST guidelines bring clarity.
iRECIST: A clarification of tumour response assessment in the immunotherapy era
Teresa Amaral (Health Care Direction Portuguese Air Force, Lisbon, Portugal; University Hospital Tübingen, Germany) describes three resistance mechanisms to BRAF inhibition of the MAP kinase pathway in melanoma. She tells Helen Saul why this classification may help select patients for treatment with BRAF/MEK inhibitors.
MAPK pathway in melanoma part II—secondary and adaptive resistance mechanisms to BRAF inhibition
Photo copyright: Joachim Leal
Fatima Cardoso (Champalimaud Clinical Center, Lisbon, Portugal) presents the European Breast Cancer Conference call to action for all EU breast cancer patients to access specialist centres.
European Breast Cancer Conference manifesto on breast centres/units
Ignace Vergote (Leuven Cancer Institute, Belgium) outlines new recommendations to widen access to BRCA screening in ovarian cancer. He tells Helen Saul that the changes will benefit patients and their families, and he describes how they can be implemented.
Current perspectives on recommendations for BRCA genetic testing in ovarian cancer patients
Alexander Eggermont (Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus Grand Paris, France) and colleagues demonstrated prolonged survival in stage III melanoma with adjuvant ipilimumab. He tells Helen Saul that ipilimumab is now a realistic treatment option for some patients.
Adjuvant ipilimumab in stage III melanoma: new landscape, new questions
Fredrika Killander (Lund University, Sweden) and colleagues found that radiotherapy prevented recurrence in women with early breast cancer. However, she tells Helen Saul that the treatment had no impact on overall survival.
Bengt Jönsson (Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden) presents new estimates on the cost of cancer in European countries over the past two decades, and examines how costs relate to the burden of disease. Speaking to Helen Saul, he predicts that spending on cancer will have to increase in future.
The cost and burden of cancer in the European Union 1995-2014
Lawrence H Schwartz (Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA) outlines clarifications and adaptations to RECIST 1.1, the standard for assessing response in patients with solid tumours in clinical trials. He tells Helen Saul that therapeutic advances such as immunotherapy will continue to drive the need for updates to RECIST.
RECIST 1.1—Update and clarification: From the RECIST committee
Alice Forster (University College London) says that understanding psychological barriers to the uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can have a major impact on its uptake. She tells Helen Saul that these barriers may be more important than ever as the new nonavalent HPV vaccine becomes available.
Anil Sood (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA) says that uncontrolled growth of tumours cannot be explained solely by aberrations in cancer cells. He tells Helen Saul that in ovarian cancer, it is essential to understand the tumour microenvironment.
Targeting the tumour microenvironment in ovarian cancer
Sandrine Aspeslagh (Gustave Roussy Cancer Centre, Villejuif, France) explains why blocking the OX40 molecule could become an important new approach in immunotherapy. In conversation with Helen Saul..
Rationale for anti-OX40 Cancer Immunotherapy'
Shaun Treweek (University of Aberdeen, UK) urges trial designers to match more closely the eligibility criteria routinely used by clinicians. In conversaion with Helen Saul.
Do participants in adjuvant breast cancer trials reflect the breast cancer population?
Ian Tannock (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada) tells Helen Saul says that missing data due to censoring in clinical trials should be considered by regulatory agencies.
Influence of censoring on conclusions of trials for women with metastatic breast cancer
Elisabeth Livingstone (University Hospital Essen, Germany) tells Helen Saul that low risk melanoma patients may be better served with less intensive follow-up.
Hervé Bonnefoi (University of Bordeaux, France) tells Helen Saul that only tumour size predicted recurrence after successful treatment of breast cancer.
Jan Bogaerts (EORTC HQ) discusses clinical trial design for rare cancers with Helen Saul.
Saskia Litière (EORTC HQ) discusses the ongoing evaluation of RECIST with Helen Saul.
Franck Bonnetain (University Hospital of Besançon) discusses the DATECAN end-point definitions in trials for pancreatic cancer, with Helen Saul.
Felipe Ades Moraes (formerly Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels; now Albert Einstein Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil) discusses with Helen Saul the link between trastuzumab use and breast cancer survival across Europe.
Ahti Anttila (Finnish Cancer Registry) tells Helen Saul that the quality of screening programmes could be improved by increasing the involvement of cancer registries.
