Introduction

Article Outline

• Copyright

The articles in this supplement to Seminars in Oncology are presented by leading international clinical investigators in the arena of metastatic breast cancer, and are derived from selected presentations at the Lilly Breast Cancer Opinion Leader Summit, Madrid, Spain, September 22, 2004. It focuses on the promising agents gemcitabine (Gemzar; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN) and pemetrexed (Alimta; Eli Lilly and Company). The topics include: treatment goals of therapy in breast cancer, an overview of gemcitabine in breast cancer therapy as well as a role for the combination of gemcitabine and the taxanes, the use of gemcitabine in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant setting, and clinical experience with pemetrexed.

In addition to presenting current trial data, the authors presented information on clinical trends and the design of future trials with the combination of gemcitabine, pemetrexed, and promising agents. Finally, an additional goal was to produce enduring material for investigators to aid them in current and future study.

Therefore, the material contained in this supplement is intended to be a thorough, objective, balanced presentation of clinical research with gemcitabine and pemetrexed in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. I hope that you the reader find the information to be stimulating, timely, and useful in patient management and the design of clinical trials.