Annual Meeting Highlights from ASCO 2011

Hello, Friends!

This week oncology thought leaders and researchers from around the Globe are meeting in Chicago for the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Although I could not be there in person, we at WVMC are following closely the developments being discussed so that every patient in North Central Washington will always have access to the most modern, novel, and scientifically promising cancer treatments.

Let me share with you a few of the studies presented and being discussed.

 

Breast Cancer Prevention

For women who have not had breast cancer, but have a high risk for breast cancer (for example a sister and a mother with breast cancer), a new drug called exemestene has been shown to decrease the chance of even getting breast cancer. Dr. Paul Goss presented the results of the study comparing exemestene to placebo. Exemestine decrease the chance of getting breast cancer by 65% compared to placebo.

 

 

Breast Cancer Radiation Improves Outcomes

For patients with 1-3 lymph nodes with breast cancer spread it was not clear if radiation to the arm pit area in addition to the breast would improve women's chances of surviving their breast cancer. Dr. Whelan from Hamilton Health Sciences, Canada presented results from the NCI Canada's trial MA20. This showed that radiation would improve the chance of not recurring with one's breast cancer at 5 years by 5.7%. Even more exiting, it likely improves the cure rate and survival rate at 5 years from 90.7% to 92.3%.

 

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Dr. Joensuu from the Helsinki University Hospital demonstrates that in patients that have had this rare tumor removed, giving 3 years of the drug imatinib versus 1 year of the same drug improves the chance of living without a recurrence of the tumor significantly and can now be considered standard treatment.

 

Melanoma

Melanoma has been notorious for being a resistant cancer to chemotherapy treatment. Groundbreaking science has demonstrated that a portion of melanoma has a mutation in a gene called BRAF that may allow the tumor to be treated with newly designed medication. Dr. Chapman from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York showed that in patients whose melanoma tumor has this mutation the drug Vemurafenib improves survival rates with a 63% reduction in the chance of dying from melanoma in the early years of this disease.

 

Wow! Amazing science leading to amazing breakthroughs. As the meeting in Chicago finishes up, we'll keep our eyes out for you to make sure you have the best chance of surviving a cancer if it was to inflict you.

Best Regards from Wenatchee Valley Medical Center,

Mitch

Comments

[free diagnosis]

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