Introduction

Peter Harper

THE ARTICLES presented in this supplementto Seminars in Oncology are based on the

proceedings from the Guy’s Hospital InterchangeMeeting held in conjunction with the Eli Lilly andCompany satellite symposium entitled “Standardsand Innovation in Thoracic Cancer Management”which took place on November 16, 2002 duringthe “3rd European Conference: Perspectives inLung Cancer” in Barcelona, Spain (November 15-16, 2002). Leading international clinical investi-gators in the field of thoracic cancer covered awide range of topics, including the gemcitabine(Gemzar; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis,IN)/carboplatin combination in the treatment ofnon–small cell lung cancer, neoadjuvant com-bined modality strategies with gemcitabine andother agents in resectable non–small cell lung can-cer, targeted therapies in combination with gem-citabine in non–small cell lung cancer, antisensestrategies targeting protein kinase C, pemetrexed(Alimta; Eli Lilly and Company) for malignantpleural mesothelioma, and the emerging role ofpemetrexed and gemcitabine in non–small celllung cancer. In addition to presenting trial data,

the faculty presented information on clinical trendsand the design of future trials with gemcitabine,pemetrexed, and combinations with other agents.Finally, an additional goal was to produce enduringmaterial for investigators that did not attend thesymposium to aid them in current and future study.

Therefore, the material presented during theinterchange meeting and contained in this volumeis intended to be a thorough, objective, balancedpresentation of clinical and basic research withgemcitabine, pemetrexed, and other new agents inthe treatment of lung carcinoma. I hope that you,the reader, find the information to be stimulating,timely, and useful in patient management and thedesign of clinical trials.

From the Guy’s & St. Thomas Hospital, London.Address reprint requests to Peter Harper, MB, FRCP, Guy’s &

St. Thomas Hospital, Medical Oncology, 3rd floor, Thomas GuyHouse, London SEI 9RT.

© 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.0093-7754/03/3004-1001$30.00/0doi:10.1016/S0093-7754(03)00278-1

Vol 30, No 4, Suppl 10 August 2003

1Seminars in Oncology, Vol 30, No 4, Suppl 10 (August), 2003: p 1