American Association for Cancer Research 1999: 10-14 April, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
No genuinely new targets or drugs were disclosed; instead, data about known therapeutic approaches and compounds were consolidated. The results of Phase I clinical trials were presented for the two farnesyl transferase inhibitors R 115777 and L 778,123. These results will certainly contribute to the debate concerning the best way to use signal transduction inhibitors in clinic. It will take many years to appreciate fully the clinical potential of such compounds. Many preclinical presentations were given on the subject of new tyrosine protein kinases inhibitors for the treatment of angiogenesis, with the target kinases being the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) family, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGF-R). Inhibitors with convincing in vivo antitumour activity belong exclusively to three chemical series, quinazolines, indolinones and pyrido-pyrimidines. Among these series, the principal new compounds are ZD 1490, PD 183805, PD 166285, SU 6668 and GW 5181. Several new topoisomerases inhibitors (camptothecin derivatives: BNP 1350, BN-80915; epipodophyllotoxin derivative: F-11782) and new anitmitotic agents (taxoid: IDN -5109; D-24851) were also discussed.
Lavelle
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Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, Centre de Recherche de Vitry-Alfortville, 94403 Vitry -sur-Seine Cedex, France.