A Look Inside and a Look Ahead

In keeping with our desire to bring you high-quality, original, peer-reviewed research, our Winter 2010 issue of Contemporary Oncology presents a mix of articles on non—small cell lung cancer, T-cell lymphomas, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and more.

Our lead article, “Adjuvant Therapy for Non—Small Cell Lung Cancer: Impact of Recent Clinical Trials on Community Practice” by Seema Harichand-Herdt, MD; and Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, reviews the current data that support the use of adjuvant platinum-based therapy in early-stage NSCLC, the second-most-frequent malignancy in men and women in the United States. Although treatment for early-stage NSCLC has changed considerably

in recent years, the authors acknowledge that future research is needed to improve the overall cure rate for this disease.

On page 22, Dr James O. Armitage, a widely recognized authority on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, contributes an article that reports on the difficulty of effectively treating patients with aggressive peripheral T-cell lymphomas. While these particular tumors comprise a relatively small percentage of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, the author notes that ongoing studies are looking to develop treatments that will significantly improve survival for patients with this disease.

A group of authors present a rare case of a solitary sternal metastasis in a relatively young patient with breast cancer. The case report, “Resection and Reconstruction of a Solitary Sternal Metastasis After Mastectomy for Breast Cancer” by Ramona Hagmaier, MHS, PA-C; Hung T. Khong, MD; Carl Maltese, MD; Randy D. Proffitt, MD; and Adam I. Riker, MD, follows the treatment of a woman who, at age 25, presented to her primary care physician with an aggressive carcinoma in her left breast. After having a modified radical mastectomy, she underwent a partial sternectomy after the primary breast cancer metastasized to her sternum. See page 30 to follow the course of treatment of this interesting case.

Occasionally, we reprint articles from our family of journals that we feel would be of interest to our audience. In this issue, we highlight an article from The American Journal of Managed Care that explores disparities in cancer care. The article “Racial/Ethnic and Age Disparities in Chemotherapy Selection for Colorectal Cancer,” by Nour A. Obeidat and colleagues reports that older patients and patients of nonwhite race and ethnicity are less likely to receive irinotecan and other newer chemotherapy agents that are used to fight stage IV colorectal cancer.

Finally, this month’s Patient Perspective spotlights Bob Gibbs, a long-term brain tumor survivor who, along with his wife, Barb, founded Miles for Hope, a nonprofit organization that raises national awareness and funding for cutting-edge cancer research. You’ll also find a Patient handout titled “10 Tips for Breast Cancer Patients During Treatment” by Julie Gralow, MD, as well as the latest oncology-related updates from the FDA.

As 2010 winds to a close and we prepare to usher in a New Year, we hope that you continue to read and support Contemporary Oncology. We encourage you to become more involved with the journal in 2011—as an author, a reviewer, or an engaged reader—to help us shape the publication so that it continues to meet the evolving needs of the community oncologist. To submit a manuscript or send feedback to the editors, e-mail Lyn Beamesderfer (lbeamesderfer@onclive.com) or John Eichorn (jeichorn@onclive.com).