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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 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 analyzed tumors from 587 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (cancer that has spread) for a mutated (changed) KRAS gene to determine which patients will benefit the most from treatment with a combination of chemotherapy and cetuximab (Erbitux). The KRAS gene is involved in the growth of cancer cells. About 30% to 45% of colorectal cancers have a KRAS mutation, which has been shown in previous studies to predict whether patients will benefit from treatment with drugs that block the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), such as cetuximab.
May 15, 2008
Canadian researchers performed a genetic analysis of frozen, banked tumor samples from 133 patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to identify a set of genes that could predict whether a patient would benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy (treatment after surgery). This study is a follow-up analysis from the National Cancer Institute of Canada's Clinical Trials Group study JBR.10 and was conducted in collaboration with the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Of the 482 patients in the original study, tumor samples were available from 133 patients. Of these patients, 62 had not received adjuvant chemotherapy, and 71 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy.