The 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting represents the 50th anniversary celebration from ASCO’s foundation. This is the beginning of the second half of our first 100 years. We’re going to think about what cancer and cancer care delivery will look like 10, 20, or 30 years from now,” said the 2014– 2015 ASCO President, Peter Paul Yu. The chosen theme of this year’s meeting is “Illumination and Innovation: Transforming Data into Learning” as reflected in Dr. Yu’s question “How do we harness our vastly increasing knowledge base and deliver the fruits of that labor to our patients?”
In gastrointestinal oncology results, updates and sub analyses of phase III trials were presented but also many negative trials. Data from early phase trials in the fields of immunology, incorporating new promising treatments like anti-PD-1, potential related markers and HER2 receptor blockage were also of interest. Furthermore, debates with a focus on financial aspects of treatment approaches, including the innovative, but yet very expensive immune modulation therapies, and comparisons of standard “targeted” approaches were discussed.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9:143–8)
