Two science-based organizations, CancerLinQ LLC, a nonprofit subsidiary of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, are teaming up to make oncology datasets from the CancerLinQ Discovery® database available to academic researchers, non-profits, health care providers and government agencies through a customized version of the American Heart Association’s Precision Medicine Platform.

Medical oncologists in Brazil are being encouraged to take advantage of a new measure set for assessing the quality of care they provide to patients with lung cancer through a collaboration between the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and ASCO. 

A report of findings from the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s third annual National Cancer Opinion Survey. 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A new study from the Levine Cancer Institute finds that patients with cancer who report higher levels of anxiety and depression experience more intense pain associated with their diseases. Furthermore, patients with higher social support report lower levels of pain. These findings will be presented at the upcoming 2019 Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium in San Francisco, CA.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An analysis of Medicare claims data found that African American and Hispanic patients who underwent surgical removal of the pancreas for pancreatic cancer were less likely than white patients to use hospice services at the end of life, though all groups were just as likely to use hospice late, meaning initiation within 3 days of death. These findings will be presented at the upcoming 2019 Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium, in San Francisco, CA.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Genetic information could help identify patients likely to respond to radiation therapy and predict when disease recurrence following radiation is likely to occur. This could help clinicians better tailor treatment strategies to individual patients to boost efficacy, while minimizing unwanted side effects. The findings come from two studies that will be presented at ASCO Breakthrough: A Global Summit for Oncology Innovators, taking place October 11-13, 2019 in Bangkok.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Roughly one in five young adults uses e-cigarettes daily or recreationally, and nearly one in four believes the products are harmless and not addictive, according to findings from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)’s third annual National Cancer Opinion Survey. This comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the results from its National Youth Tobacco Survey earlier this month, reporting that e-cigarette use among pre-teens and teens is on the rise. It is also despite warnings from the U.S. Surgeon General that e-cigarettes (also known as vapes) contain addictive and harmful or potentially harmful ingredients, including nicotine; lead and other heavy metals; and flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease. Amid public debate over banning flavored e-cigarettes, the ASCO survey also found that nearly three in 10 young adults think flavored e-cigarettes are less damaging to a person’s health than non-flavored ones. In addition, nearly seven in 10 Americans support raising the legal age to purchase e-cigarettes from 18 to 21.