Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD

For 12 years, Dr. Dennis Slamon and his colleagues conducted clinical and laboratory research that led to the development of the breast cancer drug Herceptin. The drug targets a specific genetic alteration found in about 30 percent of breast cancer patients. In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the Herceptin monoclonal antibody for treatment of advanced breast cancer. Slamon's research proved a relationship between the gene HER-2/neu, which encodes a tyrosine kinase, and a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. He continues to place research as one of his top priorities, and is currently investigating the effectiveness of Herceptin in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Slamon is also working to develop new treatments for women with breast and ovarian cancers.

Britten CD, Kabbinavar F, Randolph Hecht J, Bello CL, Li J, Baum C, Slamon D, Hecht JR. A phase I and pharmacokinetic study of sunitinib administered daily for 2 weeks, followed by a 1-week off period. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2007.

Finn RS, Dering J, Ginther C, Wilson CA, Glaspy P, Tchekmedyian N, Slamon DJ. Dasatinib, an orally active small molecule inhibitor of both the src and abl kinases, selectively inhibits growth of basal-type/"triple-negative" breast cancer cell lines growing in vitro. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2007.

Hinestrosa MC, Dickersin K, Klein P, Mayer M, Noss K, Slamon D, Sledge G, Visco FM. Shaping the future of biomarker research in breast cancer to ensure clinical relevance. Nat Rev Cancer. 2007; 7(4): 309-15.

Jones LW, Haykowsky M, Peddle CJ, Joy AA, Pituskin EN, Tkachuk LM, Courneya KS, Slamon DJ, Mackey JR. Cardiovascular risk profile of patients with HER2/neu-positive breast cancer treated with anthracycline-taxane-containing adjuvant chemotherapy and/or trastuzumab. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007; 16(5): 1026-31.

Munster PN, Britten CD, Mita M, Gelmon K, Minton SE, Moulder S, Slamon DJ, Guo F, Letrent SP, Denis L, Tolcher AW. First study of the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of CP-724,714 in patients with advanced malignant solid HER2-expressing tumors. Clin Cancer Res. 2007; 13(4): 1238-45.