The ASCO Annual Meeting is undoubtedly the premier gathering of oncology professionals from the United States and abroad, and a fertile ground for the presentation of scientific advances throughout the field. More than 30,000 doctors, nurses, advanced practice professionals, and administrators descend on Chicago’s McCormick Place each June, eager to consume newly presented information they can take back and apply to their home practices. The theme of the 2017 Annual Meeting—“Making a Difference in Cancer Care With You”—reflects the organization’s commitment to continued growth among its membership, as well as its dedication to ensuring that patients with cancer benefit from treatment advances and receive the highest quality care.
Journal of Clinical Pathways staff will be on the ground to provide comprehensive coverage of the ASCO Annual Meeting, which will be featured in our June 2017 issue. Attendees are encouraged to come say hello to us at Booth 21116 in the exhibition hall. And be sure to check back next month to read detailed reports of the research presented!
-----
Metastatic Breast Cancer Study Recruits Patients Via Social Media
A direct-to-patient approach has allowed the Metastatic Breast Cancer Project (MCBP) research study to identify nearly 3000 patients willing to provide medical records and tumor samples for analysis.
Panel Highlights Uses of Genomic Testing for Breast Cancer
A panel of breast cancer experts offered an education session on the value of standard and genomic testing for breast cancer that covered multiple disease states, from early-stage breast cancer to metastatic diseases, and focused on the utility of genomic and molecular information in selecting chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and the treatment of late-stage disease.
Combination Therapy Improves Outcomes for Patients With MCL
Patients with mantle cell lymphoma have increased odds of achieving complete remission after being treated with a combination regimen.
Working Group Considers Appropriate Endpoints for Metastatic Breast Cancer Trial
A working group composed of breast cancer researchers have determined a list of appropriate endpoints for clinical trials of patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Financial Conflicts of Interest Common Among Clinical Pathway Vendors
A majority of practitioners involved in clinical pathway development at three major oncology vendors received nonresearch general payments in 2015.
Metastatic Hormone-Naïve Prostate Cancer Effectively Treated With Combination Therapy
Groundbreaking results of a trial have shown that the combination of a new drug with androgen deprivation therapy significantly improves overall survival and radiographic progression-free survival in patients with high-risk metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer.
Breast Cancer HER2 Status Conversion After Neoadjuvant Chemo Guides Further Therapy
Patients with human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer who undergo induction chemotherapy are likely to convert to HER2-negative disease if residual disease occurs, prompting further systemic therapy.
Conference Preview - American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting
The meeting will feature the presentation of more than 2100 abstracts, with nearly 3000 additional abstracts accepted for online publication.
Gemcitabine-Based Chemoradiation Effective Bladder Cancer Treatment for Underdeveloped Nations
Neoadjuvant gemcitabine-based chemotherapy, followed by gemcitabine-based concomitant chemoradiation, may aid in bladder preservation for patients receiving treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer in under-resourced countries.
Specialized Palliative Care Reduces High-Intensity Treatments for Pediatric Cancer Patients
Specialized pediatric palliative care resulted in lower intensity end-of-life care for pediatric patients with cancer, although general palliative care did not.
Polypharmacy and Inappropriate Medications Negatively Impact Older Patients With NHL
Older patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who take potentially inappropriate medications increase the risk of adverse survival impacts.
Imaging Needed to Monitor Melanoma Brain Metastases During PD-1 Therapy
Central nervous system imaging is needed during programmed death 1 inhibitor therapy to monitor incidence, patterns of progression, and outcomes of melanoma brain metastases.
PD-L1 Testing Uncommon Among NSCLC Patients on Immunotherapy
Few patients treated with immunotherapy for metastatic non–small cell lung cancer at US community practices receive appropriate programmed death-ligand 1 expression testing.
Burden on Treatment Costs Impact Quality of Life Among Melanoma Survivors
Financial toxicity and excessive financial burden appeared common among melanoma survivors, frequently leading to disease-related distress.
Adjuvant Chemo After Surgery Improves OS in Patients With NSCLC and Brain Metastasis
Patients with non-small cell lung cancer and synchronous brain metastasis demonstrate improved 1-year and 5-year overall survival after thoracic surgery and systemic chemotherapy.
Combined Chemotherapy, Radiation Improves Survival in Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
The addition of radiation therapy to chemotherapy improved overall survival in patients with unresected locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
Financial Benefit of NGS Varies by Patient, Disease Type in Community Settings
Next-generation sequencing may be economically beneficial for select patients with treated in the community oncology setting, but it should be carefully applied due to potential associated financial burdens.
Microbiome Signature Helps Predict Prostate Cancer
Transcriptome sequencing that identifies pathogens in prostate cancer biopsies can be used as a signature for disease detection.
Receipt of Head, Neck Cancer Supportive Services Varies by Hospital Type
Patients with head and neck cancer who do not receive supportive services are more likely to miss radiation therapy appointments and lose weight during treatment.
New NGS Platform Better Identifies Targetable Genomic Alterations in Metastatic Cancers
A new comprehensive next generation sequencing (NGS) platform is more likely than targeted NGS platforms to identify clinically relevant and actionable molecular alterations in metastatic cancers.
B-Cell Malignancy Provides Economic Burden to US Commercial Payers
The economic burden of acute myeloid leukemia on US commercial insurers is significantly high, which may impact future reimbursement decisions.
Analyzing DLBCL Circulating Tumor DNA Helps Detect Copy Number Alterations
Noninvasive sampling of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma circulating tumor DNA enables early detection of focal and broad somatic copy number alterations.
Advanced Melanoma Increases Psychological Burden in Patients
Stage III and IV melanoma may have a profound impact on patients’ distress burden, which requires further intervention strategies.
Triple Combination Active in High-Risk B-Cell Malignancies
A combination of 3 pathway inhibitors is well tolerated with activity observed in heavily pre-treated and high-risk B-cell malignancies.
ASCT Deemed Safe and Effective for Older Patients With B-Cell Malignancies
Older patients with B-cell malignancies benefit from progression-free survival and overall survival improvements after autologous stem cell transplantation.
Targeted Therapy May Improve Outcomes for Patients With Multiple Myeloma
Targeted therapy against a particular protein may improve outcomes and fracture-free survival for patients with multiple myeloma.
Risk-Adapted Therapy Reduces Treatment Toxicity for Patients With Hodgkin Lymphoma
A combined chemotherapy approach may eliminate the toxic effects of radiation therapy in children and young adults with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors May Increase Response to CAR-T Therapy in ALL
Pembrolizumab improves response to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatments in pediatric patients with B-cell relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Chemotherapy After Surgery Improves Survival in Biliary Tract Cancer
Administering capecitabine after surgery extends survival by a median of 17 months compared with surgery alone for patients with biliary tract cancer. ......
Targeted Therapy Improves Disease-Free Survival in Intermediate-Risk NSCLC
Adjuvant treatment with the targeted therapy gefitinib significantly improved disease-free survival over standard of care after surgery for patients with non–small cell lung cancer.
ACA Implementation Improves Rates of Early Stage Cancer Diagnoses
The expansion of health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act has led to earlier stage diagnoses of most screenable cancers.
