2009 ECCO15/ESMO34 conference

Abstract

Upfront exemestane improves disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with postmenopausal early breast cancer compared with upfront tamoxifen, according to an analysis from the TEAM trial. Cornelis van de Velde (Leiden, the Netherlands) and colleagues randomly assigned 9779 patients to receive either exemestane for 5 years or tamoxifen for 2·5–3 years with a subsequent switch to exemestane. The switch was proposed after the Intergroup Exemestane Study ( 2007; 599–70) established this switch to exemestane was better than treatment with tamoxifen alone for 5 years. 754 patients on tamoxifen switched to exemestane in the TEAM analysis. After 2·75 years, 740 DFS events were noted; hazard ratio [HR] 0·89 (95% CI 0·77–1·03; p=0·12). When events were censored, the HR was 0·83 (0·71–0·97; p=0·022). Fracture rates did not differ between groups, but the exemestane group had more arthralgia. 2009 NCRI conferenceInhibitors of the proto-oncogene MET are showing promise as anti-angiogenics. Shahneed Sandhu (Sutton, UK) presented findings from a phase 1 trial of the oral MET inhibitor, ARQ197, in 29 patients with advanced solid tumours. The drug was well tolerated, with only three patients exhibiting dose-limiting toxicities, and a phase 2 dose of 300 mg twice daily was recommended. MRI of tumours in 12 patients showed a reduction in tumour permeability sustained over 56 treatment days, suggesting an anti-angiogenic response. Full-Text PDF