Download Top 12 Advances

Clinical Cancer Advances 2011
• ASCO’s seventh annual Clinical Cancer Advances report
identifies this year’s most significant clinical cancer
advances
• Highlights 12 most important advances, along with 42 other
notable advances in prevention and screening, treatment,
and survivorship
• Overseen by 18-member editorial board of oncologists
• Complete 2011 CCA report is available:
– Interactive PDF at www.cancer.net/cca
– Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, www.jco.org
www.cancer.net/cca
Top Advances of 2011
 New therapy for advanced melanoma
 CT screening reduced lung cancer deaths
 FDA approved new therapies for 2 hard-totreat cancers: lung cancer and melanoma
 High-dose chemotherapy regimen improves
survival in children with neuroblastoma
 Aromatase inhibitor reduced the risk of a
first breast cancer
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
1. BRAF Inhibitor Improves Survival in
Advanced Melanoma
 Phase III trial showed vemurafenib (Zelboraf®) improved
overall survival in patients with advanced melanoma
when compared to standard therapy
 The therapy targets a common mutation in melanoma in
the BRAF gene
 About ½ of patients have tumors that carry this mutation
 Vemurafenib was FDA approved in August 2011
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
2. Low-Dose CT Scan Reduces Lung Cancer
Death Rate in People at High Risk
 National screening trial of more than 50,000 currentand former-heavy smokers
 Found three annual low-dose CT scans reduced risk of
dying from lung cancer by 20%
 Results were compared patients screened with three
annual chest X-rays
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
3. FDA Approves Crizotinib (Xalkori®) for Lung
Cancer
 FDA approved crizotinib in August 2011 for patients with
advanced non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors
harbor a specific type of alteration in the anaplastic
lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene
 In studies, the treatment was found to improve survival
by 31 percent after two years
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
4. First-Line Ipilimumab Plus Chemotherapy
Improves Survival in Metastatic Melanoma
 Phase III study found ipilimumab (Yervoy®) plus
dacarbazine improved overall survival by 2 months in
patients with previously untreated metastatic
melanoma, compared to chemo alone
 Ipilimumab is an immune therapy that activates the
immune system’s T cells
 Ipilimumab was FDA approved in March 2011
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
5. New Chemo Regimen Boosts Survival for
Children and Young Adults with ALL
 Phase III Children’s Oncology Group trial of nearly
2,500 children and young adults with acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
 Showed methotrexate given in large, consistent doses,
rather than gradually increasing doses of the standard
regimen, was more effective in preventing relapse and
improving survival
 Findings set new standard of care and pushed cure
rates for pediatric ALL patients to more than 80%
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
6. Exemestane Reduces Risk of Invasive
Breast Cancer
 Phase III trial of the aromatase inhibitor (AI)
exemestane compared with placebo
 Found the AI reduced risk of developing breast cancer
in high-risk, postmenopausal women
 First conclusive evidence that an AI reduced risk of a
first breast cancer
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
7. Bevacizumab Delays Progression in
Recurrent Ovarian Cancers
 Two randomized Phase III trials found women with
recurrent ovarian cancer who received combination
therapy lived significantly longer without their disease
worsening than those who received chemo alone
1. First trial (OCEANS) found patients treated with bevacizumab
lived a median of four months longer without disease
progression than those with chemo alone
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
8. Bevacizumab Delays Progression in
Recurrent Ovarian Cancers
 Two randomized Phase III trials found women with
recurrent ovarian cancer who received combination
therapy lived significantly longer without their disease
worsening than those who received chemo alone
1. First trial (OCEANS) found patients treated with bevacizumab
lived a median of four months longer without disease
progression than those with chemo alone
2. Second trial data suggested bevacizumab added to standard
carboplatin and paclitaxel chemo for newly diagnosed ovarian
cancer patients, particularly those with more aggressive
disease, helps women live longer than with chemo alone
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
9. Imatinib Therapy Improves Survival for
High-Risk GIST
 Phase III trial showed 3 years of treatment with imatinib
(Gleevec®) after surgery in patients with high-risk
gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) significantly
improved overall and recurrence-free survival compared
to one year of treatment
 Findings could result to three-year course of therapy
becoming new standard of care for patients at risk
for relapse
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
10. New Chemo Regimen Improves Survival in
Children with Neuroblastoma
 Phase III trial showed a new high-dose combination of
chemotherapy drugs improved survival for children with
high-risk metastatic neuroblastoma
 At 3 years, event-free survival rate for patients treated
with intense dosing of busulphan-melphalan was 49%
compared to 33% for the standard chemotherapy drugs
carboplatin, etoposide and melphalan
 These findings establish a new standard of care for
high-risk neuroblastoma
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
11. RNI Decreases Recurrence in Women with
Early Breast Cancer
 Analysis of a randomized phase III trial found adding
radiation to the regional lymph nodes reduces risk of
cancer recurrence both near the tumor and in other
parts of the body
 Findings apply to women with early-stage breast cancer
who have one to three cancer-positive lymph nodes (or
high-risk node-negative breast cancer)
www.cancer.net/cca
Top 12 Advances
12. Abiraterone Acetate FDA Approved for
Prostate Cancer
 The FDA approved the oral agent abiraterone acetate
(Zytiga®) in combination with prednisone for patients
with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer who
have received prior treatment with docetaxel
 The drug works by blocking production of male sex
hormones that fuel the growth of prostate tumors
www.cancer.net/cca
2011 Cancer Policy Developments
 Progress against cancer
 Transforming clinical cancer research
 Progress made in revitalizing federally funded
clinical trials
 Potential impact of healthcare reform on
cancer disparities
 Severe cancer drug shortages gain attention
of media and congress
www.cancer.net/cca
ASCO Blueprint:
www.asco.org/blueprint
2011 Cancer Policy Developments
 Severe cancer drug shortages gain attention
of media and congress
 ASCO takes steps to improve
advanced cancer care planning
 Research highlights potential
solutions for oncology
workforce shortages
 United Nations Summit addresses cancer
crisis in developing countries
www.cancer.net/cca
ASCO Resources
ASCO Guidelines
Cancer.net
www.asco.org/guidelines
www.cancer.net
Conquer Cancer
Foundation
ASCO Connection
www.ccf.org
www.cancer.net/cca
http://connection.asco.org
ASCO Resources
Cancer Progress
www.cancerprogress.net
The cancerprogress.net site
provides a dynamic and
interactive history of progress
against cancer, expert
perspective on remaining
challenges and other useful
tools
www.cancer.net/cca
ASCO’s Annual
Report on Progress
Against Cancer
www.cancer.net/cca
For additional information, contact
Susie Tappouni in ASCO’s Communications Department:
[email protected]
571-483-1355