|
Cancer Prevention Working Group Defines Endpoints to Promote Cancer Prevention Research
The Cancer Prevention Working Group (CPWG) - a think-tank comprised of oncologists, researchers,
regulators, and patient advocates - met in Washington, DC on November 1, 2002 to develop an action
plan to speed development and approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of chemical agents
to prevent cancer. According to the group, the key to moving the process forward lies in reaching a
consensus between regulators and researchers as to what will be necessary in clinical trials in
order for a drug to receive approval for cancer prevention.
Cancer prevention strategies currently consist of screening tests for various malignancies and
education about risk factors that can be manipulated through diet and/or lifestyle changes. However,
a new area of research focuses on a host of medications that may be able to prevent disease. Dr.
Bernard Levin, vice president and professor of cancer prevention at MD Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston, who moderated the CPWG discussion, said, "Research in genomics [the study of the sequence
of DNA in a given species] and proteomics [the study of all of the proteins produced by a given
species] has the potential to provide much deeper insight into carcinogenesis that will continue to
aid in the development of chemopreventive drugs."
The CPWG noted that intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) or the abnormal growth of new cells within the
layer of cells that forms the surface or lining of an organ, must begin to be recognized and treated
as a disease unto itself, rather than as a precursor to cancer. The group also emphasized that more
Federal financial support for the FDA was needed, as well as better coalition building in support of
cancer prevention efforts and the implementation of large-scale public and professional educational
programs. Meeting participants recommended that the FDA establish an advisory committee to
continually meet and review strides in cancer prevention.
"This meeting was a big step in the right direction," said Carolyn Aldigé, president and founder of
the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation (CRPF), "Getting the key players to agree on clinical
guidelines for cancer prevention trials is paramount to getting these interventions to the patients
who so badly need them." The CRPF has assumed a central role in bringing together CPWG participants
to share independent perspectives and champion common public health goals.
|
