Tickets are still available for the annual San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon planned for Oct. 21.
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Book lovers have a chance to meet popular authors and support the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio with the annual San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon. Tickets are still available for the traditionally sold-out event Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel.

This year’s lineup of authors includes mystery master Michael Connelly, popular children's book writer and illustrator Judy Schachner of "Skippyjon Jones" fame, and Express-News columnist Cary Clack.

Authors start autographing books at 10 a.m. The program starts at 11:30 a.m., led again this year by San Antonio writer and longtime Trinity educator Coleen Grissom. This year’s six authors will talk about their featured books for about 10 minutes each.

Proceeds benefit Phase I clinical studies research
The luncheon benefits the Phase I Clinical Research Program of the CTRC. In its 18-year history, the event has raised more than $2 million. To order tickets, at $80 a person or $800 for a table for 10, call (210) 450-1152 for information, or visit the CTRC Web site.

Six authors
The Web site offers a detailed look at each of the six authors highlighted below:

• Former Los Angeles Times crime reporter Michael Connelly will talk about the latest in his best-selling series of mysteries featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch, titled "Nine Dragons."
  
• Rebecca Rather, owner of Rather Sweet in Fredericksburg, will introduce her new cookbook, "Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style."
  
• Judy Schachner, creator of a big-eared Siamese kitten known to young readers in such titles as "Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse," will preview this fall’s "Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Spice."
  
• James Rollins, veterinarian-turned-best-selling author, will describe his latest apocalyptic thriller, "The Doomsday Key."
  
• Meg Rosoff's new novel is "The Bride's Farewell," set in 1850s rural England about a girl who flees on horseback on the day she is to marry her childhood sweetheart.
  
• Express-News lifestyle columnist Cary Clack has gathered a collection of favorite columns in "Clowns and Rats Scare Me."

Los Angeles Times crime reporter Michael Connelly will talk about the latest in his best-selling series of mysteries featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch, titled "Nine Dragons."

Institute for Drug Development
When proceeds go to the CTRC’s Phase I Clinical Research Program, they support one of the largest integrated Phase I oncology programs in the world. Each year, more than 700 patients from around the world come to the CTRC’s Institute for Drug Development (IDD) to participate in clinical trials and receive treatment with new drugs. This program offers patients access to innovative new treatments that may be unavailable elsewhere.

At any given time, the CTRC is testing as many as 100 new drugs. Many hundreds of anticancer agents have been tested here and many of the most important and effective cancer drugs currently in use today were either developed or first tested at CTRC.

Phase I clinical studies represent the first time that a new compound is used in a patient, which is the initial step toward approval from the Food & Drug Administration. They are designed for patients who previously failed approved therapies and opt for an investigational treatment regimen. Participation in a clinical research study is voluntary, and a patient may withdraw from a study at any time.

Clinical studies available locally
Many clinical facilities based in and around San Antonio participate in the IDD’s clinical research studies. Among them are private medical practices, South Texas Veterans Health Care System’s Audie L. Murphy Division, University Hospital, Brooke Army Medical Center and the CTRC at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Medical Center.