{"id":7402,"date":"2018-06-11T12:25:47","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T12:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cancer.gov\/news-events\/cancer-currents-blog\/2018\/asco-sharpless-maximizing-progress"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:17:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:17:34","slug":"maximizing-the-prospects-for-progress-against-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/maximizing-the-prospects-for-progress-against-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Maximizing the Prospects for Progress Against Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 11, 2018, by Norman E. Sharpless, M.D.<\/p>\n

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NCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless speaking during the opening session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2018 annual meeting.<\/p>\n

Credit: ASCO\/Scott Morgan 2018<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the beginning of my training as an oncologist in 1996, I have often attended the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. This year\u2019s meeting, however, was the first where I had the honor of attending and speaking in my role as NCI director.<\/p>\n

In my remarks at the meeting\u2019s opening session, I explained to the audience that I initially joined ASCO when I was a young oncologist-in-training. And that I did so out of abject fear\u2014fear that I did not yet have the experience and expertise to provide the best care possible to the patients I was seeing. Joining ASCO was a way to change that. My patients needed a really good oncologist, and joining an organization like ASCO would help me become one.<\/p>\n

The ASCO annual meeting is one of the most important events each year for clinical oncologists from around the world. Researchers and clinicians at every level will tell you that they always leave the meeting more informed, inspired, and connected than when they arrived.<\/p>\n

It was gratifying to see so many NCI investigators and NCI-funded investigators reporting on their work at this year\u2019s meeting. And the breadth of that work\u2014lab studies identifying biologic factors that can fuel treatment resistance, late-phase trials of new therapies, innovative supportive-care studies, to cite just a few examples\u2014is staggering.<\/p>\n

A number of study results presented at this year\u2019s meeting deservedly received a lot of attention and praise. Although there are too many to discuss them all, here\u2019s a sample of some results that I found to be particularly intriguing and that will change practice or have tremendous potential to do so:<\/p>\n