Individuals with the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis are at increased risk of developing colon cancer. New data generated by Naofumi Mukaida and colleagues at Kanazawa University, Japan, identified a central role for the soluble factor TNF-alpha in the development of colon cancer in mice in which inflammation of the bowel was induced by administration of azoxymethane (AOM) followed by repeated dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) ingestion. Expression of TNF-alpha was increased in the colon of normal mice treated with AOM and DSS and this was followed by the development of tumors in the colon. Mice lacking one of the receptors for TNF-alpha and mice treated with an antagonist of TNF-alpha were markedly protected from the effects of treatment with AOM and DSS, developing less inflammation of the colon and fewer tumors in the colon. As suggested by the authors, and by Ezra Burstein and Eric R. Fearon in an accompanying commentary, these data provide clear rationale for the idea that drugs antagonizing TNF-alpha (such as those used to treat individuals with rheumatoid arthritis) might be useful in reducing the risk of colon cancer in individuals with ulcerative colitis.

    Antisoma, a London based company, announced at the ASCO Prostate Cancer Symposium positive phase II trial interim results in hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients in a combination treatment with AS1404. The results showed that PSA response rates were higher in the AS1404-docetaxel combination (57%) than with docetaxel alone (35%). Time to tumor progression and survival data will be reported later in the year, but current data shows that the frequency of PSA progression was halved in the AS1404-docetaxel combination versus docetaxel alone (17% versus 29%). Safety statistics indicate no significant increase in side-effects from AS1404.