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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.
June 3, 2012
A recent study by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) shows that chemotherapy after radiation therapy slowed the growth of anaplastic oligodendroglial tumors (a type of brain tumor). It also lengthened the lives of patients with this type of tumor, especially for those whose tumor was missing specific genetic material in chromosomes 1 and 19 (called 1p/19q co-deletions). Currently, most patients with this disease receive either chemotherapy or radiation therapy, but not both.
June 4, 2006
A new study shows for the first time that modafinil (Provigil), a drug generally used to treat sleeping disorders, improves cognitive functions (such as concentration and attention) and mood and lowers fatigue levels in patients with brain cancer.
June 7, 2004
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a fast-growing primary brain cancer that is difficult to treat. The standard treatment for GBM is surgery followed by radiation therapy. However, patients diagnosed with GBM usually have a poor prognosis (chance of recovery). Results of a recent, large, multi-institutional phase III clinical trial show that treating patients with radiation and chemotherapy improves both progression-free survival and overall survival in GBM.
June 6, 2004
Researchers have discovered a correlation between a tumor protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) vIII ("variant three") and the prognosis (chance of recovery) of grade 3 and 4 primary brain tumors called gliomas.
June 6, 2004
Anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (AOs) and anaplastic oligoastrocytomas (AOAs) are rare but fast-growing tumors that develop in the brain. The standard treatment is surgery followed by radiation. Doctors also know that these tumors respond to a chemotherapy regimen called PCV (procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine). This study was done to find out whether giving PCV before radiation treatment improved survival in people with AOs and AOAs.