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| William Douglas Figg, National Cancer Institute |
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Dr. William Douglas Figg received his BS in Pharmacy from Samford University and his doctoral degree from Auburn University. He completed his internship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his fellowship in Drug Development at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He also received an MBA degree from a combined program at Columbia University and the London Business School. Dr. Figg joined the National Cancer Institute in 1992. The following year he became head of the Molecular Pharmacology Section and the Clinical Pharmacology Research Core. Since then his research has focused on using pharmacological principles to optimize the treatment of cancer and on identifying genes involved in the development of prostate cancer. Dr. Figg has over 300 peer reviewed publications and has given invited lectures/seminars throughout the world. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Leon Goldberg Award from ASCPT, and the Allen J Brands Award from the US Public Health Service.
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Development of Thalidomide as an Angiogenesis Inhibitor - from Screening to the Clinic
William D. Figg, National Cancer Institute
Angiogenesis, or the development of new blood vessels, is essential for the growth, invasion, and metastasis of solid tumors. Inhibition of this process represents a promising new therapeutic treatment strategy for metastatic diseases such as advanced stage hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). In 2004, the concept of angiogenesis inhibition was validated with the FDA approval of the first antiangiogenic agent (bevacizumab-Avastin). This bolstered the field to the quest for novel inhibitors with several antiangiogenic compounds currently in the preclinical or clinical phase of drug development. The challenge for the discovery and characterization of antiangiogenic targets remains in developing efficient in vitro and/or in vivo preclinical angiogenesis screening systems and in the effective design of clinical trials with measurable endpoints. Despite its teratogenicity, thalidomide has emerged as a treatment for cancer evaluating its clinical efficacy through its antiangiogenic property. The development of thalidomide as an angiogenesis inhibitor will be presented which includes the synthesis and screening of novel thalidomide analogs, the molecular pharmacology, toxicity and metabolism of the drug, followed by a summary of the results of trials involving the use of thalidomide in HRPC.
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