ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), are calling on leaders and health ministers of the 193 United Nations (UN) member countries to reduce the burden of all non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer. The two organizations issued a joint statement today in advance of the third High-level Meeting of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, taking place on September 27, 2018, in New York.

CHICAGO – A randomized phase III clinical trial shows that people with advanced colorectal cancer may not need a frequently considered component of treatment – heated chemotherapy delivered to the abdomen during surgery. There was no difference in survival between patients with metastases in the abdomen who received heated chemotherapy during surgery and those who received surgery alone. Long-term side effects were more common with chemotherapy.

CHICAGO – A randomized, phase III trial found that people who received chemotherapy with radiation (chemoradiotherapy) before pancreatic cancer surgery had better disease-free survival than those who started their treatment with surgery, which is the current standard of care. In addition, the two-year survival rate was higher for those who received chemoradiotherapy before surgery (42% vs. 30%). The preliminary findings of this trial show that chemoradiotherapy before surgery may be beneficial for patients with pancreatic cancer. 

CHICAGO – A federally funded phase III clinical trial shows that most women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, axillary node-negative early-stage breast cancer and a mid-range score on a 21-tumor gene expression assay (Oncotype DX® Breast Recurrence Score) do not need chemotherapy after surgery. The study found no improvement in disease-free survival when chemotherapy was added to hormone therapy in this group, which accounts for about two-thirds of women who participated in the trial. The findings will have an immediate impact on clinical practice, sparing thousands of women the side effects of chemotherapy.

CHICAGO – A new chemotherapy strategy improves cure rates for children with rhabdomyosarcoma (a rare cancer of the muscle tissue) who are at high risk for cancer recurrence. In a randomized phase III clinical trial, adding six months of low-dose maintenance chemotherapy after initial treatment increased the 5-year overall survival rate from 73.7% to 86.5%. Children with rhabdomyosarcoma who are alive at five years are considered cured, as tumor recurrence is very rare.

CHICAGO – Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of consecutive, prospectively molecularly profiled patients with advanced cancer who participated in a large, personalized medicine trial. They found that using molecular tests of tumors to select targeted therapy resulted in slower cancer growth and prolonged survival across a diverse set of cancer types. Of the 1,307 patients with at least one genetic change in the cancer, the 3-year overall survival rate was 15% in the matched targeted group compared to 7% in the non-matched group. The 10-year overall survival rate was 6% for the matched group and 1% in the non-matched group. Overall survival in the matched group plateaued, starting at 3.2 years (11% were still alive). 

As nearly 40,000 oncology professionals from around the world gather in Chicago for the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to learn about the latest in clinical cancer research -- from new treatment options and advances in precision medicine to insight for improving access to care -- ASCO welcomes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) announcement that it is advancing new policies to make the drug review and approval process more modern, more scientifically rigorous, and more efficient.