The 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology was held from May 31 to June 4 in Chicago and attracted approximately 20,000 participants from around the world, including clinicians, academicians, allied health professionals, and others interested in oncology. The conference featured the latest advances in clinical cancer research, with presentations focusing on novel targeted therapies as well as improvements in chemotherapy and radiation therapy approaches.
In one study, Kamal Chamoun, M.D., of the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, and colleagues found that insurance type (Medicare, private insurance, or Medicaid) and regional income had an effect on survival in patients being treated for multiple myeloma. A secondary finding showed that patients with multiple myeloma (65 years or older) with private insurance lived longer than patients with Medicare (median overall survival, 42 versus 31 months).
“When looking at confounding factors that may contribute to this difference, we found that living in higher median income areas and/or receiving treatment in academic institutions were the main factors associated with better survival,” Chamoun said. “Despite adjusting for these factors, the difference between private insurance and Medicaid or no insurance remained statistically significant. Actions are needed to address and reverse the observed disparities.”
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
In the OSLO-COMET study, Asmund Avdem Fretland, M.D., of Oslo University Hospital in Norway, and colleagues found that laparoscopic liver surgery, in trained hands, had better short-term outcomes and equivalent survival compared with open liver surgery for the removal of metastases that have spread to the liver in patients with colorectal cancer.
Specifically, the investigators found that liver surgery, performed laparoscopically, was associated with a lower rate of postoperative complications and an improved quality of life; it was also more cost-effective compared with open liver surgery. In addition, laparoscopic surgery resulted in similar overall survival compared with open liver surgery, with the researchers finding that patients lived more than 6.5 years after both laparoscopic and open liver surgery.
“More hospitals and surgeons might consider starting a laparoscopic liver surgery program,” Fretland said. “Furthermore, it supports the practice established by expert centers, including a further expansion of laparoscopic liver surgery.”
One author disclosed a financial relationship with Olympus Medical Systems.
In the POLO trial, Hedy L. Kindler, M.D., of University of Chicago Medicine, and colleagues randomly assigned patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and a germline BRCA mutation who had received at least 16 weeks of a platinum-based chemotherapy without progression to either the poly ADP ribose polymerase inhibitor olaparib or placebo.
The investigators found that the primary end point (progression-free survival) was 7.4 months with olaparib and 3.8 months with placebo (hazard ratio, 0.53). This represents a 47 percent decrease in the risk for progression or death. From six months onward, more than twice as many olaparib arm patients were progression free.
“What is truly remarkable is that the median duration of response to olaparib in these patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer was greater than two years,” Kindler said. “Our results are the first from a phase III trial to validate a targeted treatment in a biomarker-selected population of pancreatic cancer patients. We conclude that a strategic approach of first-line platinum-based chemotherapy followed by maintenance olaparib treatment should become a new standard of care for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have a germline BRCA mutation. All patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer should be offered germline testing at diagnosis so that those with a germline BRCA mutation have the option of receiving platinum-based chemotherapy followed by olaparib.”
Several authors disclosed financial ties to AstraZeneca, which manufactures olaparib and partially funded the study.
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