Biomarkers allow doctors to match therapy ...( SAN DIEGO Genetic variations ensure...)

SAN DIEGO Genetic variations ensure that no two people are exactly alike, nor are their cancers. Researchers now have the tools and the knowledge to predict how individuals will respond to cancer therapy, enabling more precise and effective treatment. At the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12 16, researchers present data on new biomarkers that can predict response to well known treatments for breast cancer, pediatric neuroblastoma, and kidney and non-small cell lung cancer.

CD34bright/CD133neg candidate circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells (ccEPCs) are a potential biomarker during treatment with sunitinib or bevacizumab: Abstract 4956

Researchers have identified two potential biomarkers that could help doctors monitor the effectiveness of treatment with sunitinib or bevacizumab for kidney and non-small cell lung cancer.

Our work provides novel data on a potential biomarker for the monitoring of anti-angiogenic drug activity in cancer patients, as well as identifies a cell type that is a potential target for these agents, said Laura Vroling, M.Sc., a researcher in the Department of Medical Oncology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor targeted agents bevacizumab and sunitinib have proven effective against several cancers, such as non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal and kidney cancer, but it is unclear which subset of patients will benefit most from these agents, researchers say. Therefore, it is of great importance to identify and validate biomarkers for early response or duration of response, Vroling said.

Vroling and colleagues studied therapy-induced changes in a novel, rare, circulating cell population. They measured these candidate circulating endothelial progenitor cells (ccEPCs) characterized by the markers CD45neg, CD34bright and CD133neg during sunitinib or beva
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