Jan. 26, 2015

Winship research featured in new ASCO annual progress report

Photo of Winship research featured in new ASCO annual progress report

Research studies from two Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University experts are highlighted in the newly released Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD, Winship’s executive director and a radiation oncologist, is senior author of a paper featured in the report that shows survival is extended for certain patients with low grade brain tumors who are treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The study, sponsored by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG, now under NRG Oncology’s auspices), was presented last year at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting and published in abstract form in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). ASCO notes that combination therapy has proven "enormously effective against many types of cancer."

Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, a co-leader of Winship's Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics program and a lung cancer specialist, is second author of a featured study in the ASCO report that showcases the use and effectiveness of a specific targeted therapy in treating non-small-cell lung cancer patients with a specific tumor mutation (EGFR). The results were also presented at the 2014 ASCO meeting and published in the JCO in abstract form. ASCO points out that targeted therapy offers "new hope for overcoming treatment resistance in lung cancer."

ASCO created the annual report ten years ago to document the progress being made in clinical cancer research and highlight emerging trends in the field. ASCO declared the Advance of 2014 to be in gains in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

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