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Research Summaries
Using the drop-down menu below, read about highlighted scientific news from ASCO's Annual Meetings since 2002. You can select a specific year and/or a specific topic, such as a type of cancer. Selecting "All" will take you to a complete list of articles that appear under all categories.
The 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting is set for May 31-June 4, with research news beginning to be released on May 15 at 6pm Eastern. Additional research will be released each day of the meeting.
To read these summaries categorized into a yearly newsletter, you can also review Cancer Advances: News for Patients from the ASCO Annual Meeting.
Don’t forget to check out audio podcasts and videos about this news, as well. And, in addition to the highlighted studies below, thousands of scientific abstracts are released each year at the ASCO Annual Meeting. To search the entire collection of meeting abstracts, visit ASCO's website.
May 30, 2009
Patients screened for lung cancer recurrence (return of cancer after treatment) with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) showed more false-positive results (meaning that the test shows that cancer is present when follow-up testing finds no cancer) than a chest x-ray, according to a new study. LDCT scans and chest x-rays are procedures that create a picture of the inside of the body. After one scan, the false positive rate was 21% for LDCT and 9% for chest x-ray. After two scans, the rates of false-positive results increased to 33% with LDCT and 15% for a chest x-ray.
May 30, 2009
This study showed that women who received hormone therapy with estrogen and progestin to help cope with the symptoms of menopause have a higher risk of dying from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) if they develop the disease. They are not more likely to develop NSCLC than women who did not receive hormone therapy. The risk of dying from lung cancer was higher for women with NSCLC who received hormone therapy and smoke.
May 14, 2009
Adding a cancer treatment vaccine to the standard treatment improved survival for children with neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that starts in the nerve cells of infants and young children and is difficult to treat. This type of cancer vaccine is also called immunotherapy because it helps the body's immune system fight cancer.
May 14, 2009
People with cancer who received ginger supplements along with drugs that lower nausea and vomiting, called antiemetics, reported less nausea from chemotherapy than patients who did not receive a ginger supplement. Patients took the ginger supplements three days before starting chemotherapy. In this study, the 0.5 gram (g) and 1.0 g doses reduced nausea the most.
May 14, 2009
Researchers found that people with stage III or IV oropharyngeal cancer (cancer of the upper throat) who have tumors containing the human papillomavirus (HPV) live longer. This virus is most commonly passed from person to person during sexual activity. There are different types, or strains, of HPV, and some are strongly associated with certain types of cancer.
May 14, 2009
Researchers have developed and verified the first test that can predict the risk of recurrence (return of the cancer after treatment) for patients with stage II colon cancer. The test, called the Oncotype DX colon assay, evaluates several genes to learn whether a patient could be helped with chemotherapy after surgery. Another version of the Oncotype DX test is used to predict the risk of recurrence for women with breast cancer.
May 14, 2009
Researchers found that one in 10 patients participating in a clinical trial for colorectal cancer were concerned about paying for necessary supportive medications. Supportive medications include drugs to manage side effects from chemotherapy, treat infections, and/or reduce pain. This study also showed that patients rarely talked with their doctors about the cost of paying for medications.
May 14, 2009
Treatment with the drugs cisplatin (Platinol) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) increased survival and slowed cancer growth for people with biliary tract cancers (gallbladder and bile duct cancers) that could not be removed with surgery. Patients who received these two drugs were 32% less likely to die from the disease and 30% less likely to have the cancer grow than the patients who received only gemcitabine.
May 14, 2009
This study showed that for some people who have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a mutation (change) to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in the tumor, treatment with the drug gefitinib (Iressa) slowed cancer growth. The EGFR gene produces a protein that helps lung cancer cells grow and spread. Gefitinib is a type of targeted therapy that targets faulty genes and proteins that contribute to cancer growth and development.
June 1, 2008
Researchers looked at the long-term effectiveness of treatment with a single dose of chemotherapy compared with radiation therapy, the current standard of care, for men with early-stage testicular cancer. The men who participated in this study had a type of tumor called a seminoma and were first treated with surgery to remove the affected testicle. In this study, 573 men received a single dose of the chemotherapy carboplatin (Paraplatin), and 904 men received daily radiation therapy for 2 or 3 weeks.