ASCO Picks Top Advances in Cancer Treatment

Advances in screening and prevention, treatments for refractory cancers, and ways to reduce cancer recurrence were part and parcel of the progress made against the disease in 2011, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

A reduction in lung cancer death rates of 20% for high-risk individuals following low-dose computed tomography scanning was one of the more important screening advances of the past year. This was the first successful trial over many decades of trying to find a screening regimen for these patients, reported Steven I. Benowitz, MA, from ASCO, and colleagues.

Among the advances in new drug approvals was the clearance of crizotinib (Xalkori) for use in lung cancer patients whose tumor has a specific alteration in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene, the authors noted online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The 31% improved survival over two years was heralded as another example of successfully personalizing the treatment of cancers.

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Source: Medpage Today