What to Know: ASCO's Guidelines

What to Know: ASCO's Guidelines are easy-to-read summaries based on ASCO Clinical Practice Guidelines that offer a patient-oriented view of the guidelines: providing background information, discussing the recommendations, explaining what those recommendations mean for patients, and providing a list of questions patients can ask their doctors for more information.  The date on each guideline is when ASCO last published an update in response to new or revised scientific evidence. Each guideline listed here is considered the best available information on this topic to date.

All guides are available in text or in PDF format.

Selected What to Know guides have been translated into Spanish and are available in Cancer.Net's En Espanol section.

What to Know: ASCO's Guideline on Advanced Lung Cancer Treatment
August 1, 2003

The information in this guide will help you understand what unresectable non-small cell lung cancer is and how it can be treated.

What to Know: ASCO's Guideline on Bisphosphonates for Breast Cancer
August 1, 2003

This guide discusses a type of drug called bisphosphonates that may be offered to people with advanced (metastatic) breast cancer. These drugs have been shown, in many cases, to reduce the negative effects that breast cancer has on bone. These drugs have not, however, been shown to extend life or slow the growth of cancer.

What to Know: ASCO's Guideline on Understanding Tumor Markers for Breast and Colorectal Cancers
June 12, 2002

Editor's Note (10/23/06): The information about tumor markers for colorectal cancer has been updated and is now included in the What to Know: ASCO's Guideline on Tumor Markers for Gastrointestinal Cancers

A tumor marker (also called a serum marker or biomarker) is a substance found in higher than normal amounts in the blood, urine, or body tissues of people with certain kinds of cancer. Tumor markers are produced either by the tumor or by the body as a result of cancer or other conditions.