September 27, 2004
Dear Precancer Workshop Participant,
The purpose of the November 8-9, 2004 Precancer Workshop is to gather scientists who will help establish precancer as a distinct field of scientific research with its own set of basic biologic principles, fundamental research questions, clinical applications, and translational research objectives. We hope that the participants will be:
a. Willing to initiate discussions on the general subject of precancers with the purpose of developing a consensus on:
1. The general biological properties of these lesions;
2. Multidisciplinary opportunities for basic or translational research in this field;
3. High-priority research opportunities likely to lead to reductions in cancer death.
b. Willing to serve as co-authors on a series of authoritative and scholarly manuscripts that will:
1. Define, list and classify the precancers (in humans and in mouse model systems);
2. Summarize what we currently know about the precancers;
3. Evaluate the issues that are blocking progress in the field of precancer research;
4. Describe the most important areas for future research in precancer biology.
c. Willing to reconvene from time-to-time (frequency to be discussed at meeting) to:
1. Evaluate progress in the field;
2. Update the classification of the precancers;
3. Annotate the precancer classification with research findings (e.g. molecular markers, etiologic mechanisms) and clinical characteristics (e.g. risk factors, prevention factors, biological progression data, treatment protocols);
4. Identify new research opportunities in the field.
Several attendees indicated that they would like to have some reading material to prepare for the meeting. There are many excellent precancer papers, many of which have been contributed by workshop participants. Below is a listing of some relevant papers/sites that are freely accessible (as complete publications) directly from the web.
Jules J. Berman, PhD, MD
NCI/NIH
(301) 496-7147
Jerrold M. Ward, DVM, PhD
NIAID/NIH
(301) 402-5620
Donald E. Henson, MD
George Washington University
(202) 994-1966
Cheryl L. Marks, PhD
NCI/NIH
(301) 594-8778
REFERENCES
1. Joyce A. O’Shaughnessy, Gary J. Kelloff, Gary B. Gordon, Andrew J. Dannenberg, Waun Ki Hong, Carol J. Fabian, Caroline C. Sigman, Monica M. Bertagnolli, Steven P. Stratton, Stephen Lam, William G. Nelson, Frank L. Meyskens, David S. Alberts, Michele Follen, Anil K. Rustgi, Vali Papadimitrakopoulou, Peter T. Scardino, Adi F. Gazdar, Lee W. Wattenberg, Michael B. Sporn, Wael A. Sakr, Scott M. Lippman and Daniel D. Von Hoff. Treatment and Prevention of Intraepithelial Neoplasia: An Important Target for Accelerated New Agent Development Recommendations of the American Association for Cancer Research Task Force on the Treatment and Prevention of Intraepithelial Neoplasia. Clinical Cancer Research Vol. 8, 314-346, February 2002 [http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/8/2/314].
2. Jules J. Berman and Donald E Henson. Classifying the precancers: A metadata approach.
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2003, 3:8
[http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/3/8].
3. Jules J. Berman. Tumor classification: molecular analysis meets Aristotle. BMC Cancer 2004, 4:10 [http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/4/10].
4. Francis M. Giardiello, Stanley R. Hamilton, Anne J. Krush, Steven Piantadosi, Linda M. Hylind, Paul Celano, Susan V. Booker, C. Rahj Robinson, and G. Johan A. Offerhaus
Treatment of Colonic and Rectal Adenomas with Sulindac in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. NEJM 328:1313-1316, May 6, 1993.
[http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/328/18/1313?ijkey=c332ff6a02fcf8a1d8b57f6fca80e2bc3003997f].
5. Michael J. Wargovich, Arnaldo Jimenez, Kathy McKee, Vernon E. Steele, Marco Velasco, Johnnie Woods, Roger Price, Kenneth Gray and Gary J. Kelloff. Molecular Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention. Efficacy of potential chemopreventive agents on rat colon aberrant crypt formation and progression. Carcinogenesis, Vol. 21, No. 6, 1149-1155, June 2000
[http://carcin.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/full/21/6/1149].
6. Mutter GL, Ince TA, Baak JP, Kust GA, Zhou XP, Eng C. Molecular identification of latent precancers in histologically normal endometrium. Cancer Res, 2001 Jun 1;61(11):4311-4.
[http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/61/11/4311].
7. G L Mutter. Diagnosis of premalignant endometrial disease. Journal of Clinical Pathology 2002;55:326-331 [http://jcp.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/55/5/326].
GOOD PRECANCER WEBSITES
1. New Nomenclature for Classification of Duct Lesions in the Pancreas [http://pathology.jhu.edu/n.web?EP=N&FL=PANCREAS_PANIN]
2. Medical Information -- Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN)
[http://www.bostwicklaboratories.com/edresour/pin/article.htm]