ASCO’s Research Agenda: Widening The Circle Of Care

In Vivo's analysis of ASCO 2017’s abstract database reveals that patient well-being is a primary area of focus.

ASCO annual meetings are a feeding frenzy for investors looking for the next big commercial payout in key cancers, especially those that lack first-line treatments. Less noticed is the steady investment that ASCO is making on behalf of its members, in the form of a robust research agenda covering the relationship of patients to the broader social determinants of health. Of the more than 2,000 abstracts posted for ASCO 2017 so far, about 20% address issues like prevention and wellness, psychological adjustments, quality of life and financial burden of high-cost medicines.

An In Vivo analysis of ASCO’s abstract database reveals the number of relevant studies in the following areas of focus: symptom management, supportive and palliative care, cancer outcomes management, access to care and care delivery, value and cost of care, cancer survivorship, disparities in cancer care, geriatric oncology, psychosocial research and end-of-life care. (See Exhibit 1.)

Exhibit 1

ASCO 2017: The Number Of Studies Focused On Patient Well-Being

ASCO

Samples of the more prominent abstracts accepted by ASCO include:

• Long-term results of a Phase II clinical trial of psychological interventions to reduce fear of recurrence in cancer survivors (LBA10000).
• Randomized clinical trial on a psychotherapeutic strategy to alleviate stress in patients with advanced cancer (LBA10001).
• Randomized clinical trial of a web-based stress management program to improve quality of life for newly diagnosed cancer patients (LBA10002).
• Data analysis of 30-year trends in the late effects of treatment in childhood cancer survivors (LBA10500).
• Demand for psychological support in 820 melanoma patients: what are the determinants of the development of distress? (LBA9514).
• Analysis of the impact of pregnancy on recurrence risk and other cancer-related outcomes among breast cancer survivors (LBA10066).
• Findings from a clinical trial assessing the impact of online, self-reported symptom monitoring during chemotherapy on overall patient subject survival (LBA2, Plenary).
• An analysis evaluating the impact of a healthy lifestyle – including nutrition and exercise – on colon cancer survival (LBA10006).
• A study on the impact of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination on prevalence of oral HPV infections – the cause of a growing incidence of head and neck cancers – among young adults in the US (LBA6003).
• A study investigating the association between nut consumption and colon cancer recurrence and survival (LBA3517).
• Validation of a financial toxicity grading system (LBA6615).
• Do the ASCO Value Framework and the ESMO Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale measure the same construct of clinical benefit? (LBA6509).

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