ASCO 2015 Highlights

The initiative to improve end-of-life care in the United States is taking center stage, and it is about time. The US population is aging, and the number of older Americans with comorbidities is growing.

Chicago, IL—The commercially available cell-cycle progression test known as Prolaris is helpful for stratifying risk for men with clinically localized prostate cancer and can help to modify treatment decisions for men with prostate cancer based on the aggressive nature of their tumor, according to a poster presented at the 2014 College of American Pathologists annual meeting by Michael K. Brawer, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs, Urology, Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc, Salt Lake City, UT, and colleagues.

Anew guideline for systemic therapy in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is based on a literature review of recent publications and outlines the survival and quality-of-life benefits/toxicity effects of each recommendation (Basch E, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Sept 8. Epub ahead of print).

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “logistics” as the things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity that involves many people. The modern delivery of cancer care precisely parallels this definition.

San Francisco, CA—Patients with breast cancer who attended survivorship clinics demonstrated improved compliance with follow-up visits, increased use of supportive services, and felt their concerns were better addressed, according to the results of a cancer center’s patient survey reported by Leah L. Dietrich, MD, an oncologist at Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, WI, at the 2014 Breast Cancer Symposium.

San Francisco, CA—A second study adds to the body of evidence that including a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist with chemotherapy as treatment for breast cancer increases a younger woman’s likelihood of becoming pregnant.

San Francisco, CA—Preoperative breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) failed to influence clinical management in any subgroup of 257 patients with breast cancer, according to the results of a retrospective review that led one cancer center to discontinue the practice.

San Francisco, CA—A new GP2 peptide vaccine was safe and reduced the rate of breast cancer recurrence in women with high-risk breast cancer in a phase 2 clinical trial.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has responded to the chorus of voices calling for less complex rules governing electronic health records (EHRs) by not adopting the Voluntary 2015 Edition Electronic Health Record Certification Criteria.