Platinum resistance determined by cell culture drug resistance testing (CCDRT) predicts for patient survival in ovarian cancer

Introduction:

On October 30, 2002,  I submitted the attached manuscript for publication consideration to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.  On February 11, 2003, I received a manuscript rejection letter, signed by JNCI Editor-in-Chief Barnett Kramer, MD, along with two different manuscript reviews.  One of the reviewers indicated that "the only study worth publishing" would be a three armed, prospective, randomized trial, in which patients would be randomized to (1) standard, empiric therapy, (2) a "one-size fits all" utilitarian drug regimen, chosen by the historical experience with the assay results, and (3) individualized, assay-directed therapy.  So I decided to follow this advice, and performed a data analysis which would be required to support such a study and submitted an abstract of this data analysis for presentation at the January, 2004 Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology. This abstract was submitted September 9, 2003, but it was rejected for slide and poster presentation and was not even accepted for abstract publication in the meeting proceedings.

Click on the following links to view and/or download the following documents:

1. Abstract submitted for presentation at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on September 9, 2003    (PDF file, 1 page)

2. Author's cover letter which accompanied manuscript submission to the JNCI October 30, 2002

3a. Manuscript submitted to the JNCI October 20, 2002. Platinum resistance determined by cell culture drug resistance testing (CCDRT) predicts for patient survival in ovarian cancer, by LM Weisenthal, CM Weisenthal, ME Smith, CG Sanchez, and RF Berglund   Dec. 10 , 2003-New! Revised PDF file  with improved graphics resolution(PDF file, 25 pages)

3b. Title and abstract only of above study   (HTML file, 1 page)

4. Comments of Reviewer #1, received February 11, 2003

5. Comments of Reviewer #2, received February 11, 2003

6. Author's response/rebuttal to JNCI Editor Barnett Kramer, MD, sent Feb. 11, 2003

7. Related letter to Robert C. Young, MD, sent March 10,  2003 (which relates, among other things, a brief overview of the author's 25 year personal history in the field of cell culture drug resistance testing)