This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

The business of cancer

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

A couple of weeks ago I heard a bit on the radio about the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Annual Meeting abstract release. I normally do not think of our preeminent oncology meeting as rising to the level of lay press stories, unless there is an especially big clinical trial result to discuss. This story was different because it focused on ASCO’s abstract release policy. In the past I had seen the embargo notice on the front of the abstract book, but frankly, I rarely got a chance to look at the book except on the flight down to the meeting, let alone in enough time to comb through the book for investment tips (there goes my naiveté again).

Apparently in the past, the practice-changing or unique abstracts had been leaked to investors early, causing what has been called “The ASCO Effect.” It seems that not everyone was as law-abiding as I was, and this year, for the first time, ASCO is releasing their abstracts online in advance of the meeting. This early web-based release of the abstracts has some in the biotech investment world buzzing: here (http://www.growthstockwire.com/archive/2008/may/2008_may_16.asp) and here (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=ayfdiC9VAn80&refer=healthcare), and here (http://www.thestreet.com/newsanalysis/biotech/10415362.html) and here (http://www.247wallst.com/2008/05/select-positive.html.

Is it just me or is this analysis and stock buying aspect of our biggest oncology meeting leaving a bad taste in your mouth? The mere thought of having “cancer patients” and “profits” in the same thought or sentence is unsettling to me, though I realize this is an expected event in our world where cancer is the No. 2 killer overall (and may one day well surpass cardiovascular disease for No. 1, a very dubious distinction). Good thing too that I am in academics and not private practice where you frequently need to keep an eye on the bottom line, and bear in mind more financial considerations. I am wondering how those of you in community practice feel about these fiscal interests in oncology.

I am sure many of you will all be at ASCO, as I will, and I will update you about some of the more interesting aspects of the meeting. Maybe I will meet some of you there (hey, check me out at my poster! Friday afternoon! Whoohoo!!)

For those of you who need a good laugh at work, (or hey, at home, whatever) check out this totally nononcology blog. In their words, it’s a blog about “painfully polite and hilariously hostile writings from shared spaces the world over.” Thankfully, I have never come across one of these notes in my shared spaces, but I’m on the lookout now.