“It will therefore be important to distinguish the effects of molecularly targeted agents on the basal and parabasal [lung cell] layers in proposed lung chemoprevention trials with long follow-up,” the authors write.
In an accompanying editorial, Eva Szabo, M.D., of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., discusses the appropriateness of using the biomarker Ki-67 as an alternative endpoint in cancer prevention trials. While the biomarker showed that the retinoid agents were able to reduce cell growth, she says it is still too soon to test them in more advanced clinical trials. “We do not have a full understanding of the effects of these agents on [lung cells] or their effects during the full spectrum of carcinogenesis,” she writes.
Source-Eurekalert
GAN/C