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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 2, 2007
A pilot study shows that the herb ginseng may decrease fatigue (extreme tiredness) in people with cancer.
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.
June 2, 2007
A new study shows that the experimental drug axitinib slows tumor growth and/or shrinks tumors in patients with advanced thyroid cancer. Axitinib blocks receptors of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which plays a role in tumor formation by promoting the growth of blood vessels. Axitinib is a pill that can be taken by mouth.
June 2, 2007
Adding arsenic trioxide (Trisenox) to standard treatment significantly extends the lives of adults with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), according to a new study. APL is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and accounts for about 1,500 cases in the United States each year. It is most often diagnosed in young and middle-age adults.
June 2, 2007
Lower doses of chemotherapy yield survival rates higher than 90% for infants and children with stage III or IV neuroblastoma, a new study finds. Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in the nerve tissues in the neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, or adrenal gland in infants and young children. Although survival rates are generally high with the current standard treatment, the treatment can have long-term side effects, such as heart and kidney damage and hearing loss.
June 2, 2007
A report from Dutch researchers shows that giving radiation therapy to the head lowers the risk of the spread of cancer to the brain and helps patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer live longer.
June 2, 2007
Adding shark cartilage extract to standard chemotherapy and radiation therapy for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer does not extend patients' lives, according to a large phase III clinical trial.
June 5, 2006
Findings from the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) trial, one of the largest breast cancer prevention clinical trials ever conducted, show that tamoxifen (Nolvadex) and raloxifene (Evista) both reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer (cancer that has spread into the surrounding breast tissue) by about 50% in women at high risk for the disease.
June 5, 2006
Surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes in women with mutations (changes) in certain breast cancer genes ( and reduces the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, according to a long-term study. This reduction in risk varies according to the type of mutation. For example, women with mutations in the gene have a larger decrease in ovarian cancer risk following the surgery, while those with mutations have a larger decrease in breast cancer risk.