Release Date: June 5, 2007

Valid Through: June 4, 2008

Credits Available: Physicians - 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM



Fee: There is no fee for this activity

This CME activity is based on the following:

Targeted Therapy and Renal Cell Carcinoma: Are We Making Progress? 
Robert J. Amato, DO, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, Texas

Update on the Management of Genitourinary Malignancies: ASCO 2007 
Nancy A. Dawson, MD – Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Amato's research began in the late 1980's at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where - after graduating from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth - Amato completed a three year fellowship that earned him the top award for clinical excellence. Captivated by the diversity of genitourinary oncology, he spent the next 13 years there conducting extensive research while assisting in the development of the department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology.

In September 2001, Amato came to Methodist to continue his research with more autonomy. "I needed to take what I learned and apply it somewhere where I had more access to resources and more freedom to develop new drugs," he explains.

Before medical breakthroughs make international headlines, and before new drugs are approved for general use, there are studies known as phase I/II trials. Such trials are not glamorous, nor do they draw widespread attention. But all scientific advances are first conceived of and tested at these phases, and it is to this stage that medical oncologist Dr. Robert J. Amato has dedicated his career.

One of the worlds leading experts in the treatment of genitourinary cancer, Amato's research is making dramatic strides at Methodist, where he spends most of his time perfecting drug combinations to halt the progression of metastatic kidney and prostate cancers, and determining how elements from his current studies may be used to disable other genitourinary cancers.

Nancy A. Dawson, MD

Dr. Nancy A. Dawson is the William M. Scholl Professor of Medicine and Oncology, Director of the Clinical Research Management Office and Director of Clinical Research in the Prostate Cancer Research Center at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. She previously was the Director of Genito-Urinary medical Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center from 1999 through 2006.  Dr. Dawson retired as a colonel in the United States Army in June, 1999.  She served her entire military career at Walter Reed Army Medical Center where she was Director of Clinical Research, Chief of Hematology-Oncology Service, and Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army.  She also was a senior investigator in the signal Transduction and Oncogenesis Section of the Medical Branch of the National Cancer Institute.  She served as the Vice-Chair of the Prostate Committee for the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) for a decade and has chaired several CALGB studies for prostate cancer.  She is co-editor of Prostate Cancer (1994) and Prostate Cancer: Translational and Emerging Therapies (2006).  She is currently focusing on novel systemic approaches to the treatment of prostate, bladder and kidney cancer.  Dr. Dawson earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her medical degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Evaluate clinical trial data presented at ASCO based on study design, the reported results, and authors’ conclusions.
• Consider the reviewed data as it relates to previous, concurrent and future treatment of renal cell carcinoma.
• Consider the rationale for the use of current and emerging therapies in single agent and in combination modalities for renal cell carcinoma
• Evaluate the current and emerging data for earlier lines of therapy, and various administration methods with respect to overall patient outcomes, safety, and efficacies.
  
  

Disclaimer

Notwithstanding any language to the contrary, nothing contained herein constitutes, nor is intended to constitute, an offer, inducement, promise, or contract of any kind. The data contained herein are for informational purposes only and are not represented to be error free. Any links to non-Creative Educational Concepts, Inc. (CEC) information are provided as a courtesy. They are not intended to constitute, nor do they constitute, an endorsement of the linked materials by CEC .

Supporters

This activity is supported by an educational donation provided by Amgen and an unrestricted educational grant from Novartis.