Targeted therapies in medical oncology: successes, failures and next steps

Abstract

The move towards personalized medicine is ongoing with exciting research being conducted across all areas of oncology. The evidence presented at the 2012 European Society of Medical Oncology Congress (Vienna, 28 September–2 October 2012) adds to the move towards selecting patients for specific drug treatments based on elucidating biomarkers that reveal susceptible mutations or pathways. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and KRAS mutations are well-known examples of this approach, and evidence presented at the congress corroborated this strategy across many cancer types: for example, the efficacy of tivantinib in MET-positive patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) [Daniele et al. 2012], crizotinib in anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [Shaw et al. 2012], and the combined use of dabrafenib plus trametinib in BRAF V600E mutation-positive and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor treatment-naive patients with metastatic melanoma [Long et al. 2012]. Data are also accumulating about the optimal duration of therapy; see the latest results from the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial and Protocol for Herceptin as Adjuvant therapy with Reduced Exposure (PHARE) trials in breast cancer [Goldhirsch et al. 2012; Pivot et al. 2012], and the use of bevacizumab beyond progression in metastatic colorectal cancer [Masi et al. 2012] reported in this article. This editorial features highlights of late-breaking and best abstracts in medical oncology presented at the conference.