Saturday, June 5 Sunday, June 6 Monday, June 7

40th Annual Meeting American Society of Clinical Oncology June 5-8, 2004 | New Orleans, Louisiana

Highlights from ASCO 2004 The results of more than 3,700 cancer research studies are being presented at the 40th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in New Orleans, La., from June 5 - 8, 2004. Nearly 25,000 cancer specialists from around the world gathered to discuss the latest advances in cancer care, treatment, and prevention. Saturday, June 5 Sunday, June 6 Monday, June 7

Back to Top Saturday, June 5
Post-Surgery Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Early Lung Cancer
(Posted: 06/05/2004) - Two large randomized studies show that in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, treatment after surgery with chemotherapy improves overall survival compared to surgery alone. The findings help resolve a controversy over the value of post-surgical chemotherapy for early lung cancer and are likely to change the standard of care.

Cetuximab (Erbitux®) Plus Radiation Boosts Survival for Patients with Head and Neck Cancer
(Posted: 06/05/2004) - Adding the drug cetuximab to radiation therapy can nearly double the median survival in patients with head and neck cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body, a large international phase III study has found.

Rituximab (Rituxan ®) Improves Response Rate in Mantle Cell Lymphoma
(Posted: 06/05/2004) - Rituximab, when added to standard chemotherapy for initial treatment of mantle cell lymphoma, shrank or eliminated tumors in a significantly higher percentage of patients than the standard chemotherapy (CHOP) alone, according to findings presented at the 2004 ASCO meeting in New Orleans.

Dose-Dense Chemotherapy Helped Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer
(Posted: 06/05/2004) - Weekly administration of the drug Taxol® (paclitaxel) to patients with breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body resulted in a higher response rate and a longer delay until patients' disease progressed, compared with conventional administration of the drug every three weeks.

Docetaxel (Taxotere®) Before Radiation Extends Survival in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer
(Posted: 06/05/2004) - In a phase III study of patients with inoperable head and neck cancer, a multidrug chemotherapy regimen including the drug docetaxel (Taxotere®) that was given before radiation extended patients' survival by about four months, with fewer side effects, compared to standard therapy.

Bortezomib (Velcade®) Delays Progression of Advanced Multiple Myeloma Longer than Standard Therapy
(Posted: 06/05/2004) - Early results from an international phase III trial show that bortezomib (Velcade®), a new targeted cancer drug, was more effective than standard therapy at delaying disease progression in patients with multiple myeloma that had relapsed or become resistant to other treatments.
Sunday, June 6
Cholesterol-Lowering Statins May Protect Against Colorectal Cancer
(Posted: 06/06/2004) - Drugs taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol may also reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study presented at the 2004 ASCO meeting in New Orleans. It is too early, however, to recommend that people take the drugs - known as statins - in the hope of avoiding colorectal cancer.

Longer-Term Data Confirm Raloxifene Reduces the Risk of Breast Cancer in Older Women
(Posted: 06/06/2004) - Raloxifene (Evista®) substantially reduced the risk of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who took the drug for eight years, according to findings presented at the 2004 ASCO meeting in New Orleans. It is not clear whether all women at risk for breast cancer would receive a similar protective benefit.
Monday, June 7
First Evidence That Chemotherapy Extends Life in Advanced Prostate Cancer
(Posted: 06/07/2004) - Chemotherapy regimens that include the drug docetaxel extend median survival by two to three months in patients with advanced prostate cancer that is no longer responsive to hormone therapy, two large phase III studies have shown. These are the first clinical trials to show that chemotherapy can improve survival in advanced prostate cancer.

Adding Temozolomide (Temodar®) to Radiation Increases Survival in Glioblastoma Multiforme
(Posted: 06/07/2004) - Adding the drug temozolomide (Temodar®) to radiation therapy for the treatment of a brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme increased survival in a large randomized trial conducted in Canada and Europe. While this approach has been customary in the United States for several years, these findings are definitive and should establish this approach as the standard of care.

Carboplatin May Be Less Toxic Than Radiation for Seminoma
(Posted: 06/07/2004) - One course of carboplatin appeared to be as effective as radiation therapy in treating early seminoma, a kind of testicular cancer, and also appeared safer, reducing the risk of second cancers. Further follow-up is needed to show whether the benefits continue longer than three years.