The largest clinical oncology conference provided an insight into the future of oncology care from Phase 3 clinical trial readouts to the use of technology in clinical workflows
Vox.Bio attended the Annual ASCO conference in a sunny, but windy Chicago. As usual there was some really exciting new clinical data presented including data which could remove chemotherapy and adjuvant chemo from the therapy paradigm for advanced NSCLC HR-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer patients respectively.
Here are some of our other highlights from the five day conference:
Oral therapies positioned as the convenient patient option
- The trend for oral therapies is now well established in oncology, offering patients significant convenience advantages. We must remember that emotional support and education remain crucial in the treatment journey, especially when patients do not have the regular clinician contact which is a source of reassurance for many.
A more patient friendly version of blockbuster Darzalex is in development
- Janssen presented a number of posters showing clinical trial design and early safety results of their subcutaneous daratumumab formulation. This new formulation which can be delivered in 3 to 5 minutes should really improve patient comfort and convenience, we look forward to seeing development continue.
Data demonstrating the clinical efficacy of using electronic patient reported outcomes (ePROs) and wearables
- There was a growing body of evidence presented at ASCO in support of using ePROs and activity trackers to monitor patients remotely. Most notably was the the compelling data presented by Dr Fabrice Denis on Friday which demonstrated an OS advantage in lung cancer patients when the Moovcare app led to earlier interventions. This is a really striking finding, we hope that both pharma and clinical centres are working to incorporate this type of technology into clinical work flows.
The charitable focus in the exhibit hall
- A number of companies used the events restrictions on the monetary value of materials given away to make charitable donations. Bayer, for example had a large air fountain where they encouraged delegates to tie memorial ribbons for friends or family with cancer. For each ribbon Bayer donated $1 to children’s cancer research.