This isn’t exactly “funny” – nothing about cancer is – but during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago I couldn’t help noticing the multitude of hand-sanitizer vending devices posted around McCormick Place. They seemed … odd there. “Scrub some alcohol gel on your hands, so you don’t catch cold! Oh, cancer? Not a lot we can do about that. We’re working on it.” So they are. The number of abstracts submitted and attendees set records this year. I’m not always assigned to cover ASCO, but I’ve done my share, and 2014’s meeting seemed uncommonly active. Of...

CHICAGO – As the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting entered day two, coffee-sipping attendees perked to a first-in-the-morning discussion of the phase III data with Pharmacyclics Inc.'s ibrutinib (branded Imbruvica) in relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the first time an oral drug has yielded survival improvement over standard therapy.

CHICAGO – Data from four phase III trials were slated to roll out during the afternoon plenary session of the 50th annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), providing new insights into breast, prostate and colorectal cancers and each funded at least in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

CHICAGO – Long-awaited results from the massive phase III breast cancer study called ALTTO (Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization) show the experiment failed, an outcome that eliminates a potential therapeutic shortcut and gives clinicians plenty to talk about as they plan trials.

CHICAGO – Like the late-stage adjuvant breast cancer study that failed but brought big benefits, a phase III study comparing the four commonest, first-line regimens in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) without KRAS mutations may have seemed a letdown at first.

CHICAGO – Side effects of fatigue and excitability set in among attendees during the fourth day of sessions, as the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) continued and immuno-oncology (IO) stole the show as predicted. Melanoma drew special attention, especially ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.) and Merck & Co. Inc. with its PD-1 inhibitor, but there was plenty more.

CHICAGO – Already undergoing priority review by the FDA in ovarian cancer (OC), Astrazeneca plc's oral poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib wowed the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) with results from a phase II study that paired the compound with the same company's anti-angiogenesis candidate cediranib.

CHICAGO – Efficacy plus an acceptable safety profile add up to the prime outcome from a trial, but there's much value in lesser attempts, said Gregory Masters of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center in Newark, Del., as he found himself defending the choice of a spotlighted study at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) over the weekend.

CHICAGO – With immuno-oncology all the rage, especially against melanoma, at the 50th annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology, the pairing of potential new compounds with ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.) proved a popular ploy.

CHICAGO – As the burst of a Midwestern spring turned to summer here, a record number of about 33,000 attendees converged for the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, where doctors, scientists and others heard details of the latest research.