© 2005-2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). All rights reserved worldwide.
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 15, 2013
In a large, 20-year study, researchers found that men with a high level of fitness at middle age have a lower risk of developing and dying from lung and colorectal cancers. They also found that better fitness lowers the risk of dying of prostate cancer.
June 3, 2012
A long-term study comparing two common hormone therapy schedules showed that intermittent (short breaks in treatment) hormone therapy is less effective than continuous (no breaks in treatment) hormone therapy for men with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer with minimal disease spread (cancer that has not spread beyond the spine, pelvis, and lymph nodes). Hormone-sensitive prostate cancer is cancer that uses male sex hormones called androgens, such as testosterone, to grow and spread. Hormone therapy, also called androgen ablation or androgen-deprivation therapy, lowers levels of androgens in the body to help keep the cancer from growing or spreading. Eventually, metastatic prostate cancer (cancer that has spread) develops a resistance to hormone therapy, meaning the treatment stops working to control the cancer's growth.
May 16, 2012
About one-third of men with localized, high-risk prostate cancer who received the drug abiraterone (Zytiga) along with hormone therapy before surgery had little to no cancer remaining after six months of treatment, according to a recent clinical trial. Prostate cancer is called localized high-risk prostate cancer when the tumor has grown throughout the prostate, is high grade (meaning the cancer cells barely look like normal cells, called a Gleason score of 8), and the man has a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level higher than 20.
May 18, 2011
In a recent study, the drug cabozantinib helped manage various advanced cancers, particularly prostate, ovarian, and liver cancers. The drug also helped shrink bone metastases (cancer that has spread to the bone). Cabozantinib is a type of targeted therapy, which means it targets the cancer's specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival.
May 18, 2011
A large study of more than 12,000 Swedish men showed that first-time prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels for men age 44 to 50 predicts the chance of developing metastatic prostate cancer (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) or dying of the disease up to 30 years later. PSA is found in higher-than-normal levels in men with various conditions of the prostate, including prostate cancer and noncancerous conditions.
June 6, 2010
New research shows that men with locally advanced or high-risk prostate cancer who received hormone therapy combined with radiation therapy lived longer and were less likely to die from prostate cancer. Locally advanced prostate cancer has spread to the area surrounding the prostate, and high-risk prostate cancer is more likely to grow and spread. Men with locally advanced or high-risk prostate cancer are usually treated with hormone therapy after initial treatment with radiation therapy or surgery. Hormone therapy, also called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), for prostate cancer involves stopping the body from producing hormones called androgens. Androgens can help prostate cancer cells grow, so lowering the levels in the body can make prostate cancers shrink or grow more slowly, but it does not cure prostate cancer.
June 3, 2007
The type of treatment men choose for localized prostate cancer is influenced by the type of doctor they see, according to a new study.
June 2, 2007
Adding flaxseed to the diet of men with prostate cancer may slow the growth of the cancer, but lowering dietary fat has no effect on prostate cancer growth, a new study suggests.
May 14, 2005
Results of a large phase II clinical trial show that a hormone drug called toremifene (Acopodene) lowers the risk of prostate cancer by nearly half for men with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN).
June 7, 2004
Two new studies demonstrate that docetaxel (Taxotere) extends survival and relieves pain in men with prostate cancer that does not respond to hormone therapy.