ASCO 2015 Highlights

San Francisco, CA—For resectable pancreatic cancer, administering chemo - therapy and radiation before surgery results in better outcomes and lower costs than performing surgery first, reported researchers from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

San Francisco, CA—Results obtained on the Oncotype DX Colon Cancer Assay led to changes in treatment decisions 29% of the time for patients with stage II colon cancer, according to a survey of community oncologists reported at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

San Diego, CA—Among patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), costs related to febrile neutropenia (FN) treated with hospitalization exceed $11,000 per episode, researchers reported at ASH 2011.

San Diego, CA—Survivors of hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) have substantial medical illnesses and psychological symptoms ≥10 years after the procedure, representing a substantial burden to our healthcare system.

San Diego, CA—A novel inhibitor of B-cell receptor signaling, PCI-32765, produced high rates of remission and was well tolerated in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) whose disease was refractory to at least 2 previous treatments, reported Susan O'Brien, MD, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

San Diego, CA—The treatment of lymphoma during pregnancy does not compromise fetal outcomes or maternal health and cancer-specific survival, according to a study presented at ASH 2011 from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

In patients with early-stage, nonbulky Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), overall survival (OS) was superior at 12 years in patients who received standard chemotherapy compared with radiotherapy in a study conducted by the National Cancer Institute of Canada's Clinical Trials Group and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

San Diego, CA—Venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs in 1% of hematologic malignancies and can lead to fatal pulmonary emboli, postthrombotic syndromes, bleeding as a result of anticoagulant treatment, and recurrent VTE.

A review of treatment patterns for higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) shows growing use of lenalidomide, despite the lack of phase 3 survival data supporting this approach, according to research conducted at the Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, in collaboration with Xcenda, a research and consulting firm.

San Diego, CA—Only 30% of cryoprecipitate was used in accordance with established guidelines in a tertiary care center, in a study presented at ASH 2011 by researchers from Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, NJ.