2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-017-0318-4pmid: 28367250
The past 10 years have been an exciting ride for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) aficionados. An overview of changes in management paradigms in CLL, ranging from insights into biology, via chemotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy to maintenance and novel drugs will be presented.
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-017-0310-z
The field of myeloma has been very dynamic in the last 10 years. Indeed, in no other hematological malignancy has progress been so rapid. In Europe, five new myeloma drugs were approved in the 2‑year period during 2015–2016. This has already had a profound impact on the way we approach treatment of relapsed disease. In the near future, the results of trials evaluating some of these very new substances in first-line treatment will be available and hopefully will show a further improvement of disease control over what has already been achieved with current upfront protocols.
Marosi, Christine; Preusser, Matthias
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-016-0309-xpmid: 28367251
For neuro-oncologists, much was accomplished in the last decade, including the establishment of the first standard of care (SOC) in this field of oncology. New treatment options boosted research in the whole field of neuro-oncology, as well clinical trials, translational and basic research. Accumulated data on molecular–genetic subgroups with distinct clinical outcomes in disease entities led to the establishment of new biomarkers and to the collaborative formulation of a new WHO classification of central nervous system tumors.
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-017-0313-9pmid: 28367252
Several milestones in the systemic treatment of lung cancer have been reached. Combination chemotherapy of small cell lung cancer was the first of these milestones. The establishment of palliative chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer was another important milestone. Targeted therapies with angiogenesis inhibitors, EGFR inhibitors, and ALK inhibitors also advanced treatment. The clinical introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors was the latest milestone.
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-017-0320-x
Over the past 10 years, enormous progress has been made in breast cancer (BC) treatment, leading to a substantial decline in BC mortality in Western countries. Although the following short review is necessarily incomplete, the discussion will highlight major achievements in the field.
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-017-0311-y
Gastric cancer incidence is decreasing in western countries in the last decades. During the last years diagnostic and therapeutic options in gastric cancer have improved substantially. The aim of this short review is to highlight the progress and setbacks in therapy of gastric cancer over the last 10 years and to set them into perspective. Back in 2006 optimal curative treatment was still under debate, palliative first line treatment was standard but no targeted therapy for gastric cancer was available. Second line treatment was indicated rarely if ever in gastric cancer patients and no data were published on phase III level regarding therapy in patients progressing after first line. In this context many relevant papers were published in the last decade that changed current practice.
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-017-0321-9
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common tumor that is largely refractory to cytotoxic agents. With the implementation of a multitude of novel therapies in the past 10 years, the overall survival of patients with advanced RCC has more than doubled.
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-016-0307-zpmid: 28367253
Autopsy, histology and cytology have been and histology and cytology still are the main diagnostic tools in surgical pathology. During the last two decades molecular biology gradually has extended the diagnostic armamentarium. In tumor pathology molecular biology techniques are used to diagnose and subclassify tumors, predict response to therapies and identify therapeutic targets. Molecular pathology has evolved into a novel focus of clinical pathology and transforms the historically morphology based discipline. Traditional pathology and molecular pathology combine and guide tumor therapy.
Dediu, M.; Gerger, A.; Zojer, N.; Bartsch, R.
2017 memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology
doi: 10.1007/s12254-017-0314-8pmid: 28367254
Results of several clinically relevant studies were presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO). This article summerizes the personal highlights of three medical oncologists in their respective areas of expertise.