ASCO 2015 Highlights

One of the most fear-inducing side effects of chemotherapy is nausea and vomiting. Without appropriate antiemetic prophylaxis, 70% to 80% of all patients with cancer who receive chemotherapy experience nausea and/or vomiting. Consequently, preventing and managing chemotherapy­induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a crucial part of care planning for patients with cancer.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and a German company called SAP are launching the clinical phase of ASCO’s big-data initiative—CancerLinQ. This clinical phase is focused on gathering and analyzing data from the 97% of US patients with cancer who do not participate in clinical trials.

A revised survivorship care plan template addresses obstacles that have limited the use of survivorship plans in clinical practice, suggested an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) expert panel headed by Deborah K. Mayer, PhD, MSN, RN, Professor of Nursing and Director of Survivorship Care, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

San Diego, CA—According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), highly and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy should be managed with a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, an NK1 receptor antagonist, and dexamethasone (Decadron).

San Diego, CA—Approved in 2012 by the FDA, axitinib (Inlyta) is indicated for the treatment of patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) whose disease had failed 1 previous systemic therapy. The approval of axitinib was based on the safety and efficacy data from clinical trials, which are often limited in their patient population and short-term analysis.