ESMO Asia conference held in Singapore
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) concluded its inaugural four-day ESMO Asia 2015 Congress. Held in Singapore from 18–21 December 2015 at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre, the oncology congress saw almost 3,000 medical professionals representing various oncology disciplines from 75 countries, convening to discuss and share key research and developments in oncology.
Among the presentations given during the four days, five major findings that were presented included:
1. Underprivileged patients at major risk of disease-related ‘financial catastrophe’ Data collected in 8 low and middle-income South-East Asian countries shows 5% of cancer patients were pushed into poverty because of the high disease-related costs (March 2012-September 2013). The researchers showed that cancer resulted in ‘financial catastrophe’ for almost half of the patients with economic hardship at the time of diagnosis. Full release: http://bit.ly/1mu1tye
2. Asian women with endocrine-resistant breast cancer benefit from combination therapy Data collected for Japanese and Korean patients in a global trial provides evidence for combining palbociclib with fulvestrant to overcome endocrine resistance in women with hormone receptor positive (HR+), HER2 negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer. Full release http://bit.ly/1me7a2H
3. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy: new options for difficult-to-treat head-and-neck cancers Phase I and II trials show promising antineoplastic activity of the immunotherapy agent pembrolizumab in patients with heavily pretreated nasopharyngeal cancer, and effectiveness of the targeted agent afatinib as second-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) after failure with platinum-based therapy. Full release http://bit.ly/1ODu4rg
4. Afatinib a better choice for EGFR-mutated lung cancer in first-line treatment Patients with EGFR-activating mutations in advanced lung cancer seem to benefit more from afatinib as first-line treatment across a range of clinically relevant endpoints, as reported in a global, randomised, open-label Phase IIb trial. Full release http://bit.ly/1S0VE7f
5. More patients with lung cancer could benefit from immunotherapy Pivotal phase 2/3 trial shows that two doses of the anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab and a higher, investigational dose improve median survival in all PD-L1-positive patients compared with the commonly used chemotherapy. Full release http://bit.ly/1TWZ0ql
ESMO President, Prof Rolf A. Stahel said, “We can and must help improve the outcomes for cancer patients, everywhere. With ESMO’s relentless efforts and dedication, we will continue to support our members in their quest for regular updates. And we’ll remain committed to erase boundaries in cancer care, whether between countries, continents or specialities, and pursue our mission ‘across oncology, worldwide’.”
The next edition of the ESMO Asia Congress will be once again held in Singapore from 16-19 December 2016.
