Paul A. Bunn, Jr., MD
James Dudley Chair in Cancer Research
Professor and Director
University of Colorado Cancer Center
Denver, CO
Executive Director
International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
(IASLC)

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD
Chief, Section of Thoracic Oncology
Professor of Medicine & Cancer Biology
Department of Thoracic / Head & Neck Medical Oncology
Co-Director, Phase I Clinical Trials Working Group
The University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Corey J. Langer, MD
Director of Thoracic Oncology
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Vice Chair of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
(RTOG)

Gerold Bepler, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Oncology
Division Chief and Program Leader
Thoracic Oncology
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
Tampa, FL

Philip Bonomi, MD
Alice Pirie Wirtz Professor of Medical Oncology
Director, Division of Hematology-Oncology
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, IL

David P. Carbone, MD, PhD
Harold L. Moses Chair in Cancer Research
Ingram Professor of Cancer Research
Director of Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Lung Cancer
Ingram-Vanderbilt Cancer Center
Nashville, TN

Walter J. Curran, MD, FACR
Professor and Chair
Department of Radiation Oncology
Emory School of Medicine Chief Medical Officer
Winship Cancer Institute
Atlanta, GA
Chairman, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
(RTOG)

Martin J. Edelman, MD
Professor of Medicine
Director of Medical Thoracic Oncology
University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center
Baltimore, MD

David R. Gandara, MD
Professor of Medicine Director, Thoracic Oncology Program Associate Director for Clinical Research,
UC Davis Cancer Center
Sacramento, CA
Chair, Lung Committee, Southwestern Oncology Group
(SWOG)

Richard J. Gralla, MD
Vice President, Cancer Services
Chief, Division of Hematology & Oncology
Monter Cancer Center
North Shore-LIJ Health System
Lake Success, NY

John V. Heymach, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Thoracic Head/Neck Medical Oncology
Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology
The University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Fred R. Hirsch, MD
Professor of Medicine and Pathology
University of Colorado Cancer Center
Denver, CO

David Jablons, MD
Section Chief, General Thoracic Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

Edward S. Kim, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Thoracic/Head & Neck Cancer
The University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Mark G. Kris, MD
Chief, Thoracic Oncology Service
William and Joy Ruane Chair in Thoracic Oncology
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY

Primo N. Lara, Jr., MD
Professor of Medicine
Director, Clinical Trials Support Unit
UC Davis Cancer Center
Sacramento, CA

Thomas J. Lynch, MD
Chief, Division of Hematology and Oncology
Director, Center for Thoracic Cancer
Massachusetts General Hospital
Cancer Center
Boston, MA

Vincent A. Miller , MD
Associate Attending Physician
Thoracic Oncology Service
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY

Gordon Mills, MD, PhD
Chairman, Department of Molecular Therapeutics Professor of Medicine
University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

John D. Minna, MD
Max L.Thomas Distinguished Chair in Molecular Pulmonary Oncology
Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research
Professor, Internal Medicine
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Jeffrey N. Myers, MD, PhD
Professor and Deputy Chair for Academic Programs
Director of Research for Head and Neck Surgery
The University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Joseph R. Nevins, PhD
Barbara Levine University Professor of Cancer Genomics
Duke University
Durham, NC

Jyoti D. Patel, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Hematology/Oncology
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive
Cancer Center
Northwestern University
Chicago, IL

Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Thoracic Oncology Research Program
University of Chicago Medical Center
Chicago, IL

Alan B. Sandler, MD
Associate Professor of Cancer Research,
Lung Cancer
Ingram-Vanderbilt Cancer Center
Nashville, TN

Joan H. Schiller, MD
Professor & Division Chief,
Hematology-Oncology
Deputy Director, Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center
Andrea L. Simons Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX
Chair, Lung Committee, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)

David Sidransky, MD
Professor of Oncology,
Pathology and Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Director, Head and Neck Cancer Research
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Baltimore, MD

George R. Simon, MD, FACP, FCCP
Associate Member
Department of Thoracic Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
Tampa, FL

Everett E. Vokes, MD
Director, Section of Hematology/Oncology
Deputy Director, Cancer Research Center
John E. Ultmann Professor of Medicine
Radiation and Cellular Oncology
The University of Chicago Medical Center
Chair, Lung Committee, Cancer and Leukemia Group B
(CALGB)

Ralph Zinner, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

The treatment of patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer remains challenging. The determination of prognosis and the selection of optimal drug therapy are often quite complex. Balancing safety with efficacy in the treatment of these patients requires careful consideration of the therapeutic options available. Thus, a need has always existed for a personalized approach to the treatment of thoracic malignancies.

Recently, technologies contributing to the understanding of the molecular biology of cancer have advanced rapidly, resulting in an evolution in cancer treatment from a general, non-selective therapeutic approach, to one that incorporates the biology of the malignancy and the genetics of the individual patient. The role of new technologies in personalized risk assessment and treatment planning of patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer has helped establish the need for this educational program.

The optimal roles of drug therapy as single agents, and also in combination regimens for the treatment of patients with thoracic malignancies continue to be evaluated and improved. Both targeted therapies and chemotherapies remain a vital part of clinical therapeutic options for the treatment of lung cancer and head & neck cancer. Various molecular biomarkers are becoming increasingly used to help predict whether some patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer will respond to a specific drug therapy, and which can help assist clinicians in the treatment planning for these patients. Molecular biomarkers including ERCC-1, RR-1, Beta 3 tubulin and others exist to predict patient prognosis as well as response to platinums, taxanes, some anti-metabolites, epothilones and anti-folates.

A protein that has been the target of several anti-cancer therapies is the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which has been shown to mediate tumor cell growth, and may play a role in tumor angiogenesis. Therapies that target EGFR have been evaluated in many clinical trials and are now frequently used in the treatment of patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer. The results of clinical studies, especially those in which molecular biomarkers are used for personalizing drug therapies, and a discussion of the optimal use of drugs that target the EGFR, warrant ongoing discussion. There is also a need to discuss the role of genomics and proteomics in improving patient selection for drug therapies that target EGFR.

Tumor angiogenesis is another important biological process that is the target of drug therapies for personalized therapies of thoracic malignancies. Currently, anti-angiogenesis clinical therapies with monoclonal antibodies that target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are used in the treatment of lung cancer and head & neck cancer. Several small molecule drugs that target the VEGF receptor (VEGFR) have also been shown to possess activity against other tyrosine kinases that contribute to tumor growth and proliferation. These small molecule multi-targeted kinase inhibitors are currently being evaluated in the treatment of lung cancer. Thus, there is a need to review the latest clinical trial results and discuss the optimal use of anti-angiogenesis therapies in the treatment of lung cancer with specific molecular biomarkers for personalizing treatment.

There is also a need to discuss the inhibition of newer molecular targets and pathways involved with thoracic malignancies. These include IGFR-1, aurora kinase, mTOR, c-Met and Mek which will help further advance the personalization of lung and head & neck cancer therapies. Inhibition of Cox-2 for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer also warrants a review for its potential role in personalizing therapies for this malignancy.

For the treatment of some major malignancies, including lung cancer and head & neck cancer, the practice of medicine and patient management is evolving from what has traditionally been a general approach with standardized therapies, to a more personalized therapeutic approach using therapies specific to patients, tumors and drugs.

The First Annual Symposium on Personalized Therapies for Lung Cancer and Head & Neck Cancer is a completely new concept in medical education for thoracic malignancies. This comprehensive symposium will help clinicians improve their selection of the most appropriate targeted therapeutics and chemotherapeutics, and also help to identify certain patient sub-populations of thoracic malignancies who may best respond to specific drug therapies. The ability to accomplish these new approaches to treatment is based upon the increasing ability of clinicians to utilize the newest and ever increasing knowledge of the relevant science, biology and genetics to gain competence and improve their performance treating these patients. The desired result of personalized therapies of lung cancer and head & neck cancer is an overall improvement in patient care, through increased drug efficacy and a minimization of treatment-induced toxicities.

This symposium is the second in an ongoing series on personalized therapies for major malignancies, a completely new concept in cancer medical education. The initial symposium of this series, the First Annual Personalized Therapies for Breast Cancer was held on January 19-20, 2008 in Miami, FL with 31 expert faculty, and was highly successful. The total number of participants was 261, far in excess of the projected number and among the highest of any stand-alone symposium, especially for the first annual event. Ninety-one percent all of the participants’ evaluations were very positive. There were 13 pharmaceutical companies providing financial support. In addition, Dr. Steven Rosenberg of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has requested that the Oncology Learning Center publish the proceedings of the personalized therapies for breast cancer symposium in the NCI journal, Cancer.  All of these metrics validate the success of the concept of this series of educational symposia on personalized therapies of major malignancies.

The First Annual Symposium on Personalized Therapies for Lung Cancer and Head & Neck Cancer begins with a session reviewing the appropriate scientific advancements in the understanding of cancer biology, and the use of molecular biomarkers: both prognostic and predictive factors, to enable a personalized approach to the treatment of patients with lung cancer and cancer of the head & neck. The remaining sessions will review the treatment of lung cancers and head & neck cancers based upon the five areas of drug therapy where there exists the most scientific advances to help assist clinicians with improved patient and drug selection: 1) chemotherapies; 2) anti-EGFR therapies; 3) anti-angiogenic therapies; 4) the use of radiation with drug therapies; and 5) additional targets, pathways and related therapies for personalizing the overall management of patients with thoracic malignancies.

This educational activity is designed to meet the educational needs of clinicians in community/private practice and at academic/research institutions involved in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer and head & neck cancer patients. The target audience of clinicians includes medical oncologists and hematologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, ENTs, laboratory pathologists and speech pathologists. Physician’s assistants, fellows, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals with an interest in the treatment of patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer may also attend. There are neither prerequisites nor relevant system barriers to this activity.

At the conclusion of this symposium participants will be able to:

1. Devise improved drug treatment strategies for the treatment of patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer.
2. Evaluate the role of gene signatures in determining the prognosis for patients with lung cancer as a basis to begin personalizing therapies.
3. Evaluate the role of gene signatures in the prediction of therapeutic response of personalizing therapies for patients with lung cancer.
4. Evaluate the role of genetics, genomics and proteomics in determining patient prognosis, and also for improved planning of treatment strategies for patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer.
5. Optimize the rate and duration of response to chemotherapy by using a personalized approach to treating patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer.
6. Devise strategies to utilize molecular biomarkers for determining sensitivity and resistance of patients to taxanes, platinum agents, anti-metabolites and other chemotherapy agents, and devise the optimum treatment regimens for patients who are refractory to initial therapy or who have relapsed.
7. Evaluate the clinical role of anti-EGFR therapies and other targeted therapies in the personalization of treatment of patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer.
8. Evaluate the utility of FISH and IHC testing for EGFR as a predictive factor for response to anti-EGFR therapies.
9. Evaluate the use of molecular biomarkers and new technologies in assessing the quality of response to personalized drug treatment of thoracic malignancies.
10. Devise the optimal clinical strategies with anti-angiogenesis therapies in patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer.
11. Evaluate the personalization of the use of multi-targeted kinase inhibitors for devising new strategies for the treatment of patients with lung cancer and head & neck cancer.
12. Evaluate how inhibiting newer metabolic pathways and blocking both established molecular targets (e.g., VEGF and EGFR) and novel targets (e.g., IGFR-1, aurora kinase and histone deacetylase) can be used to personalize and improve the treatment of patients with lung cancer or head & neck cancer.
13. Evaluate how a personalized approach to cancer treatment can minimize drug and radiation-induced toxicities.
14. Evaluate the role of newer clinical strategies, such as the use of Cox-2 inhibition, which may benefit subpopulations of patients with thoracic malignancies.
15. Devise strategies to select the most appropriate supportive care agents, especially for managing nausea and vomiting, opioid-induced bowel dysfunction, bone metastasis and bone health, for patients with thoracic malignancies.
    

The Oncology Learning Center designates this educational activity for a maximum of 17 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The symposium will involve didactic lectures, plus an extensive use of interactive techniques, including patient case study discussions, Point-Counterpoint debates and an interactive audience response system throughout the symposium to help engage the learners and to facilitate the use of the most up-to-date adult learning principles. Attendees will receive a comprehensive DVD-ROM of the program approximately 4 weeks after the symposium, upon request.

The entire symposium will be published on the OLC Web site for one year.  Approximately four months after the symposium, those participants who have volunteered to participate in further, in-depth evaluations of the symposium designed to measure physician practice performance, will be contacted by members of the OLC staff to determine if they have included what they have learned from the symposium into their routine treatment of patients with thoracic malignancies.

Sincere appreciation is extended to the following companies for their generous support of this educational meeting: Genentech BioOncology, OSI Oncology, Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, ImClone Systems Incorporated, sanofi-aventis, Biogen Idec, Poniard Pharmaceuticals, OSI Pharmaceuticals