© 2003 by Oxford University Press
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 95, No. 6, 428,
March 19, 2003
© 2003 Oxford University Press
NEWS |
In Brief
Scientists Solve Structure of Breast Cancer ReceptorResearchers have discovered the structure of the HER2 protein, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) associated with 20% to 30% of breast cancers, a new study reports.
With structure in hand, researchers may now be able to design more precise drugs to target HER2. They will also be able to understand how current breast cancer drugs like Herceptin interact with HER2.
To study the structure of HER2, Hyun-Soo Cho, of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues grew crystals of the extracellular region of the HER2 protein and, using X-ray crystallography, they were able to map out a 3-dimensional structure of the protein. They repeated the procedure with crystals of HER2 bound to Herceptin.
The structures reveal a fixed state for HER2 that allows one domain of the protein to bind to Herceptin. The researchers conclude that "knowledge of the precise HER2–Herceptin contacts may allow design or selection of Herceptin variants with higher affinity and improved therapeutic properties."
The study appears in the February 13 issue of Nature.
—Linda Wang
ASCO Discontinues Advance Distribution of Abstracts
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will be distributing abstract books for their annual meetings at the start of the meeting, rather than mailing them to pre-registrants in advance as was done previously.
This change is a response to the growing concern that data from abstracts are being prematurely included in financial analyst reports, leading to news stories that contain preliminary or incomplete information.
The new distribution process will take effect this year at ASCO’s annual meeting in Chicago (May 31–June 3). Pre-registrants will receive an expanded meeting program and the educational book 1 month before the start of the meeting. In addition, an online meeting program, which will allow attendees to plan their schedules before the meeting, will be available in mid-April.
Abstract books will be mailed to ASCO members immediately following the meeting.
See also News, Sept. 18, p. 1352, "Big Business: When Wall Street and Cancer Research Collide."
—Linda Wang
2003 Appropriations Approved; NIH, NCI Receive Increases
In February, President Bush signed off on an FY2003 omnibus appropriations bill, which provided funding for government agencies that had been operating at FY2002 funding levels based on a series of continuing resolutions.
The approved budget for the National Institutes of Health—$27 billion—was close to that outlined in the President’s budget for 2003, and represented a 15% increase over 2002 spending levels. The National Cancer Institute received $4.6 billion, about a 13% increase over 2002 levels.
The NCI had implemented interim funding policies for research grants to cope with the flat budget. (see News, Jan. 1, p. 13.) The NCI anticipates improving the paylines, but until more details of the appropriations bill are worked out, it is unclear exactly what that improvement will be. When an updated policy is available, it will be posted on the NCI’s Web site at http://www.nci.nih.gov/research_funding/policies/.
—Katherine Arnold
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