Acute promyelocytic leukemia is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the white blood cells. In APL, there is an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes. The disease is characterized by a chromosomal translocation involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha gene and is distinguished from other forms of AML by its responsiveness to all-trans retinoic acid therapy. Acute promyelocytic leukemia was first characterized in 1957 by French and Norwegian physicians as a hyperacute fatal illness, with a median survival time of less than a week. Today, prognoses have drastically improved; 10-year survival rates are estimated to be approximately 80-90% according to one study.
The era of cancer chemotherapy began in the 1940s with the first use of nitrogen mustards and folic acid antagonist drugs. The targeted therapy revolution has arrived, but many of the principles and limitations of chemotherapy discovered by the early researchers still apply.
Charles Gordon Zubrod was an American oncologist who played a prominent role in the introduction of chemotherapy for cancer. He was one of the recipients of the 1972 Albert Lasker Awards in recognition of his contributions to the field, amongst many other doctorates and awards.
The Children's Oncology Group (COG), a clinical trials group supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the world's largest organization devoted exclusively to pediatric cancer research. The COG conducts a spectrum of clinical research and translational research trials for infants, children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer.
SWOG is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) supported organization that conducts clinical trials in adult cancers.
The Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) was a U.S. and Canadian clinical trial cooperative group created with the mission of studying childhood cancers. It was formed by the merger of the pediatric divisions of two other cooperative groups, the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and the CALGB. In 2000, POG merged with several other pediatric cooperative groups to form the Children's Oncology Group (COG). This merger has seen its fair share of problems, especially with regard to integrating the various databases associated with each individual cooperative group. One such initiative to consolidate these databases involves caBIG or the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid, which is guided and supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland.
The Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group (IRS) was a U.S. and Canadian clinical trial cooperative group created with the mission of studying childhood cancers. In 2000, IRS merged with several other pediatric cooperative groups to form the Children's Oncology Group (COG). This merger has seen its fair share of problems, especially with regard to integrating the various databases associated with each individual cooperative group. One such initiative to consolidate these databases involves caBIG, or cancer BIG, which is guided and supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland. They published a report on cancer treatment protocols published by the National Institute of Health in 2001, and a separate report in 2011 on improving outcomes for patients with low-risk embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is a unique pan-European non-profit clinical cancer research organisation established in 1962 operating as an international association under Belgium law. It develops, conducts, coordinates and stimulates high-quality translational and clinical trial research to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. This is achieved through the development of new drugs and other innovative approaches, and the testing of more effective therapeutic strategies, using currently approved drugs, surgery and/or radiotherapy in clinical trials conducted under the auspices of a vast network of clinical cancer researchers supported by 220 staff members based in Brussels. The EORTC has the expertise to conduct large and complex trials especially specific populations such as the older patient and rare tumours.
Emil "Tom" Frei III was an American physician and oncologist. He was the former director and former physician-in-chief of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He was also the Richard and Susan Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
The Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) is a center for the evaluation of data produced by clinical trials funded by the National Cancer Institute, as part of the National Clinical Trials Network "to provide integrated radiation oncology and diagnostic imaging quality control programs... thereby assuring high quality data for clinical trials designed to improve the clinical outcomes for cancer patients worldwide."
Emil J. Freireich was an American hematologist, oncologist, and cancer biologist. He was recognized as a pioneer in the treatment of cancer and use of chemotherapy and is often known as the father of modern leukemia therapy.
George P. Canellos is an American oncologist and cancer researcher. His research career spans many decades as well as several areas of therapeutic agents for the treatment of malignant diseases. He is perhaps most known for his work with Vincent T. DeVita in which he developed the combination chemotherapy CMF, which was one of the first combination therapies for breast cancer. The two also collaborated to create the MOPP regimen for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Genta Incorporated was a biopharmaceutical company started in La Jolla, California, which discovered and developed innovative drugs for the treatment of patients with cancer. Founded in 1989 by a highly skilled entrepreneur, the company focused on a novel technology known as antisense, which targets gene products that are associated with the onset and progression of serious diseases. At that time, only Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was conducting significant research with this technology. Antisense is a short span of oligonucleotides – modified DNA structures ranging from about 12-24 bases that selectively bind to specific RNA. The intent is to block expression of an aberrant protein that contributes to the disease of interest. Genta in-licensed three different antisense molecules that blocked Bcl-2, a fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and the gene c-myb, respectively.
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is a national clinical trials network sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that consists of about 10,000 cancer specialists at hospitals, medical centers, and community clinics across the United States and Canada. The Alliance develops and conducts clinical trials with promising new cancer therapies, and utilizes scientific research to develop treatment and prevention strategies for cancer, as well as researching methods to alleviate side effects of cancer and cancer treatments.
High-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant (HDC/BMT), also high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplant, was an ineffective treatment regimen for metastatic breast cancer, and later high-risk breast cancer, that was considered promising during the 1980s and 1990s. With an overall idea that more is better, this process involved taking cells from the person's bone marrow to store in a lab, then to give such high doses of chemotherapy drugs that the remaining bone marrow was destroyed, and then to inject the cells taken earlier back into the body as replacement. It was ultimately determined to be no more effective than normal treatment, and to have significantly higher side effects, including treatment-related death.
Eric P. Winer is a medical oncologist and clinical researcher specializing in breast cancer. He is director of Yale Cancer Center and physician-in-chief of Smilow Cancer Network, effective February 1, 2022. From 1997-2021, he was the Chief of the Breast Oncology Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Beginning in 2013, he held a range of institutional roles at Dana-Farber, most recently as Chief of Clinical Development. He has been the Thompson Chair in Breast Cancer Research and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is currently the president-elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. His career has been focused on breast cancer treatment and research.
Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is a technique used to combat the occurrence of metastasis to the brain in highly aggressive cancers that commonly metastasize to brain, most notably small-cell lung cancer. Radiation therapy is commonly used to treat known tumor occurrence in the brain, either with highly precise stereotactic radiation or therapeutic cranial irradiation. By contrast, PCI is intended as preemptive treatment in patients with no known current intracranial tumor, but with high likelihood for harboring occult microscopic disease and eventual occurrence. For small-cell lung cancer with limited and select cases of extensive disease, PCI has shown to reduce recurrence of brain metastases and improve overall survival in complete remission.
Waun Ki Hong was Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he served as chairman of the Department of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology from 1993 to 2005 and as head of the Division of Cancer Medicine from 2001 to 2014. He was also an American Cancer Society Professor and the Samsung Distinguished University Chair in Cancer Medicine emeritus.
James Frederick Holland was an American physician and Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Early in his career, he had worked for the National Cancer Institute and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
