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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.
Watch a patient education video led by Dr. Mark Kris explaining treatment guidelines.
May 13, 2013
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. In 2007, ASCO developed a clinical practice guideline about preventing and treating blood clots for people with cancer. These recommendations were updated in 2013 to reflect new research. This guide for patients is based on ASCO's recommendations.
November 5, 2012
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations for follow-up care for patients with breast cancer. In 2012, ASCO reviewed the results of new research studies, and no changes to the recommendations were needed based on the current research findings. This guide for patients explains the ASCO recommendations.
July 9, 2012
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) developed evidence-based recommendations on sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma. This guide for patients is based on the ASCO and SSO recommendations. The information in this guide discusses the use of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) for Melanoma. SNB is a procedure where one or a few lymph nodes are removed from under the arm and examined for evidence of cancer.
May 20, 2012
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations on using computed tomography (CT) scans to screen for lung cancer in people who smoke or who have previously quit smoking. This guide for patients is based on the ACCP and ASCO recommendations.
April 2, 2012
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations on giving doses of chemotherapy that are based on a patient’s actual weight. This guide for patients is based on ASCO recommendations and is intended for people who are obese.
September 26, 2011
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations on the use of antiemetics (drugs that prevent vomiting). These guidelines were updated in 2011 because the latest research showed better prevention of vomiting with new combinations of medications and some additional medications became available. This guide for patients receiving any type of chemotherapy or radiation therapy is based on these updated ASCO recommendations.
September 6, 2011
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations on the treatment of stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. This guide for patients contains several recommendations, one of which was updated in September 2011.
July 25, 2011
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations on the usefulness of laboratory tests (called assays) to find out if a cancer might be resistant or sensitive to a specific chemotherapy treatment before it is offered to a patient. In 2011, this guideline was reviewed due to new research; this research continued to support the 2004 recommendations. This guide for patients is based on ASCO’s most recent recommendations.
February 22, 2011
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations for using drugs, called bone-modifying drugs, for advanced breast cancer that has spread to the bone to help prevent bone-related problems. In 2011, this guideline was updated based on results from clinical trials of these drugs, including new information about a possible condition experienced by some people taking bone-modifying drugs. It also includes a new drug, denosumab (Xgeva), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This guide for patients is based on ASCO’s most recent recommendations.
What to Know: The ASCO and ASH Guideline on Epoetin and Darbepoetin Treatment for Adults With Cancer
October 25, 2010
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) developed evidence-based recommendations about the use of epoetin (Epogen, Procrit) or darbepoetin (Aranesp) for chemotherapy-related anemia. In 2010, this guideline was updated to reflect results of recent clinical studies and a new analysis of combined data on the use of these drugs. It also summarizes the changes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) approved prescribing recommendations. This guide for patients is based on the most recent ASCO and ASH recommendations.
July 12, 2010
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations for treatment with hormonal therapy for early-stage breast cancer. In 2002, ASCO developed a clinical practice guideline about the use of aromatase inhibitors for early-stage breast cancer. Since then, this guideline was updated several times based on clinical trials that included aromatase inhibitors for early-stage breast cancer. In 2010, this guideline was further updated to provide guidance on the use of tamoxifen (Nolvadex) and aromatase inhibitors. This guide for patients is based on the most recent ASCO recommendations.
June 7, 2010
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) developed evidence-based recommendations about the use of epoetin (Epogen, Procrit) or darbepoetin (Aranesp) for chemotherapy-related anemia. In 2010, this guideline was updated to reflect results of recent clinical studies and a new analysis of combined data on the use of these drugs. It also summarizes the changes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) approved prescribing recommendations. This guide for patients is based on the most recent ASCO and ASH recommendations.
April 19, 2010
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) developed evidence-based recommendations to improve the accuracy of testing for estrogen and progesterone receptors for breast cancer. This guide for patients is based on ASCO’s and CAP’s recommendations.
May 26, 2009
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. In 2002, ASCO updated a clinical practice guideline from 1999 on the use of drugs to help lower the risk of breast cancer. This guideline was expanded again in 2009 to update the recommendations for the drug raloxifene (Evista) as a way to lower the risk of breast cancer for some women. This guide for patients is based on these updated ASCO recommendations.
October 22, 2007
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. In 2001, ASCO published a clinical practice guideline about tumor markers for breast and colorectal cancers. The scope of this guideline was expanded and updated in 2007 and recently updated in 2009. This patient guide is based on ASCO's recommendations and focuses specifically on breast cancer.
October 22, 2007
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. ASCO and Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) together developed recommendations for treatment after surgery for non-small cell lung cancer. This patient guide is based on their recommendations.
May 21, 2007
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. In 2002, ASCO published a clinical practice guideline about bisphosphonate treatment for multiple myeloma. The scope of this guideline was expanded and updated in 2007. This patient guide is based on ASCO's recommendations.
April 2, 2007
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, ASCO asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. In 2004, ASCO published a clinical practice guideline about hormone therapy for advanced prostate cancer. This guideline was updated in 2007 to reflect developments in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. This patient guide is based on ASCO's recommendations.
December 11, 2006
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. ASCO and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) issued a joint clinical practice guideline about human epidermal growth receptor 2 (HER2) testing for breast cancer. This patient guide is based on these recommendations.
October 23, 2006
To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, ASCO asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. ASCO recently updated a clinical practice guideline about the use of tumor markers in gastrointestinal cancers. This patient guide is based on ASCO's recommendations.