Biography
Biography: Aurea Flores
Abstract
The identification of biomarkers used in the prognosis and development of cancer therapy has dramatically changed the way clinical research in oncology is conducted. Cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases which main commonality is deregulated cell function. At the center of this deregulation are many mechanisms which are dependent on specific genetic features. The genesis and progression of cancer is complex and distinct even within the same cancer diagnosis. Treatment paradigms have evolved in time as translational science has elucidated and describe a large number of genetic biomarkers. The identification of biomarkers in the treatment of cancer has changed drug development dramatically in the last decade. For instance, the discovery of the epidermal growth factor family, including EGFR and Her2/neu, led the path for a new paradigm in the treatment of breast and lung cancer as well as the development of targeted therapies for these and other cancers. The discovery and elucidation of the expression of the Philadelphia chromosome in chronic myelogenous leukemia led to the development of imatinib followed by several analogs which are currently in the market. Differential biomarker expression in lymphomas and leukemias assists clinicians in better understanding the prognosis of disease as well as treatment. However, biomarker expression has not always been straightforward. Ras targeted therapies have been disappointing. Ras expression in colorectal cancer has been shown to confer resistance to EGFR-Ââ€expression, while EGFR expression is not predictive of EGFR-Ââ€targeted therapy response in this patient population. The latter serves to underline the complexities of genetic biomarker expression. Much work is still to be undertaken. There is still much knowledge to be sought. There are many challenges in clinical research incorporating biomarkers in oncology including the study designs to be used, the logistics of such studies, the procurement of appropriate tissues to analyze, the validation of these analyses, and the proper interpretation of the data. In this presentation we will discuss some of the most recent oncology biomarkers described and the challenges of incorporating cancer biomarkers in clinical research with particular emphases in oncology trials.