REPORT BY PATIENT ADVOCATE SALLY PAYNE ON HER ATTENDANCE AT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY ANNUAL MEETING, CHICAGO, 30 MAY – 3 JUNE 2008.
On behalf of the
International Brain Tumour Alliance (www.theibta.org),
I recently attended the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in
The link to all
of the CNS abstracts presented at ASCO is: http://www.asco.org/ASCO/Abstracts+%26+Virtual+Meeting/Abstracts?&vmview=abst_category_abstracts_view&confID=55&subCatID=5
The abstract numbers
are indicated in brackets next to the points mentioned to facilitate further
review.
There are a
number of single agent therapies being tested in Phase II trials with promising
results. (2017) (2018)
Avastin plus CPT11 was shown in a number of
ASCO-reported studies to be effective. Avastin plus
various other chemotherapy options have also had positive study results.
(2010b) (2021) (2022)
A lot of interest
was shown in combining temozolomide (Temodar in the
There were a
number of discussions about the difficulties doctors have in reading MRIs after Avastin use. (2085)
With regard to temozolomide, varying schedules were discussed. (2010)
(2078) (2084) (2044 )
Re-challenge using temozolomide was also a
dominant topic. A study that looked at re-challenge with a prolonged temozolomide schedule after recurrence showed positive
results. (2078)
The role of MGMT
status was also mentioned frequently. Debate continues as how best to use this
information. (2044)
Presentations and
discussions at ASCO also focused on anaplastic astrocytoma, with some clinicians indicating that this type
of tumour should be separated out in clinical trials as prognosis for this tumour
type is more favourable.
In addition a
study has shown that for anaplastic astrocytoma it doesn’t matter in which order radiation and
chemotherapy are administered because there is the same overall survival and
little difference in progression-free survival (PFS) (LBA2007).
Of importance to
brain tumour patients is the question of access to
drugs outside of clinical trials. Discussions were held on this topic and one
viewpoint that was expressed was that off-label use could possibly disadvantage
patients as enrolment numbers for clinical trials could be affected so overall
research might not progress so quickly. This
was discussed at an educational seminar “Access to Investigational Drugs
Off-Protocol: What Do We Owe Patients?”
The issue of
pseudo progression was widely addressed.
Pseudo progression was considered most likely to occur up to three
months after radiation but can occur up to six months post-radiation
. One study showed that pseudo-progression occurred in around 23% of the
cases (2025). See also IBTA background paper at: http://www.theibta.org/PseudoProgression.pdf
There was an
interesting study showing a correlation between the mechanisms of GBM and
melanoma. (2082)
Although still in
its relatively early stages, it was evident at ASCO that stem cell research is
being investigated by many institutions.
Note: The IBTA is
sponsored by a number of companies in the form of undirected grants. These are
acknowledged on the IBTA website at: http://www.theibta.org/sponsorship.html
Every
effort has been made to be accurate regarding the information contained in
this report and which is for educational purposes only. However, the IBTA
accepts no liability for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions. For individual patient medical care and
advice, consult your doctor.