title: Optimising translational oncology in clinical practice: strategies to accelerate progress in drug development.
abstract: Despite intense efforts, the socioeconomic burden of cancer remains unacceptably high and treatment advances for many common cancers have been limited, suggesting a need for a new approach to drug development. One issue central to this lack of progress is the heterogeneity and genetic complexity of many tumours. This results in considerable variability in therapeutic response and requires knowledge of the molecular profile of the tumour to guide appropriate treatment selection for individual patients. While recent advances in the molecular characterisation of different cancer types have the potential to transform cancer treatment through precision medicine, such an approach presents a major economic challenge for drug development, since novel targeted agents may only be suitable for a small cohort of patients. Identifying the patients who would benefit from individual therapies and recruiting sufficient numbers of patients with particular cancer subtypes into clinical trials is challenging, and will require collaborative efforts from research groups and industry in order to accelerate progress. A number of molecular screening platforms have already been initiated across Europe, and it is hoped that these networks, along with future collaborations, will benefit not only patients but also society through cost reductions as a result of more efficient use of resources. This review discusses how current developments in translational oncology may be applied in clinical practice in the future, assesses current programmes for the molecular characterisation of cancer and describes possible collaborative approaches designed to maximise the benefits of translational science for patients with cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: Rolf.stahel@usz.ch.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stahel
authors.affiliation: EORTC Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: jan.bogaerts@eortc.be.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bogaerts
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: Fortunato.CIARDIELLO@unina2.it.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciardiello
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Oncology, Experimental Radiation Oncology, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium; University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Radiation Oncology, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: dirk.deruysscher@uzleuven.be.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Ruysscher
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: peter.dubsky@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dubsky
authors.affiliation: Institut de Cancérologie Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France; University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, Paris, France. Electronic address: Michel.DUCREUX@gustaveroussy.fr.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ducreux
authors.affiliation: University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Electronic address: Stephen.Finn@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.affiliation: Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France. Electronic address: pierre.laurent-puig@parisdescartes.fr.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laurent-Puig
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: Solange.Peters@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: martine.piccart@bordet.be.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piccart
authors.affiliation: VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: EF.Smit@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smit
authors.affiliation: Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: christos.sotiriou@bordet.be.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sotiriou
authors.affiliation: University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: sabine.tejpar@uzleuven.be.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tejpar
authors.affiliation: University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: eric.vancutsem@uzleuven.be.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Cutsem
authors.affiliation: Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jtabernero@vhio.net.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tabernero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D017281:Cost of Illness; D016527:Drug Costs; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000639:trends*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000639:trends*; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy / Q000639:trends*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000639:trends*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Collaborative networks; Drug development; Molecular screening platforms; Translational oncology