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Selecting targets for cancer prevention: where do we go from here?

Eva Szabo1

  • 1Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Cancer Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, 6130 Executive Boulevard, Room 2132, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. szaboe@mail.nih.gov

Nature Reviews. Cancer
|October 13, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Preventing metastatic epithelial cancers is crucial due to limited cures. Re-evaluating clinical chemopreventive drug development and agent selection is necessary following trial side effects and limited practice changes.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Prevention
  • Drug Development

Background:

  • Metastatic epithelial cancers remain largely incurable, driving interest in prevention strategies.
  • Despite some successes, cancer prevention trials have yielded limited changes in medical practice and occasional harm.
  • Recent serious adverse events highlight the need for improved approaches in clinical chemoprevention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-evaluate the approach to clinical chemopreventive drug development.
  • To establish a framework for selecting agents in future cancer prevention trials.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent clinical chemoprevention trials and their outcomes.
  • Analysis of serious side effects reported in cancer prevention studies.
  • Development of a proposed framework for agent selection.

Main Results:

  • Few cancer prevention strategies have translated into widespread medical practice.
  • Significant side effects have been observed in some chemoprevention trials.
  • A need exists for a structured approach to agent selection in future trials.

Conclusions:

  • Current strategies for clinical chemopreventive drug development require re-evaluation.
  • A robust framework for agent selection is essential for advancing cancer prevention research.
  • Improved methodologies are needed to ensure the safety and efficacy of cancer prevention interventions.

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