My experience at ASCO
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Thanks Linda for posting this and of course for all of your work for us at ASCO. It is so very much appreciated by us all. And that is great that you were able to meet up and have dinner with everyone else as well. My thanks to you once again.
Hugs,
Gavin
Thanks so much, dear Linda. Nothing beats meeting in person and always, always, does it turn out to be better than even expected. ASCO, although the largest conference we attend, rarely offers much on Cholangiocarcinoma, but this time it was especially limited to virtually non-existent. But, the studies on solid tumors should trickle down to our disease also. Also, I believe that the Pharma Industry is finally starting to focus a bit more on rarer diseases; they certainly don’t have much in the pipeline at the moment.
Again, thanks for your commitment of making a difference.
Hugs,
MarionDear Linda, Thank you so very much for representing us at ASCO. Even though there was not enough on CC I also feel that the “other” Cancers they concentrate on more may lead to treatments for CC. How lucky for you to have had dinner with Marion, Percy, Barbara and Stella. Once again thank you so much.
Last week I attended the ASCO convention in Chicago as part of the Research Advocacy Network’s training program for patient research advocates. Over 25,000 people from all over the world attended the convention. As there were no sessions specifically devoted to cholangiocarcinoma, I attended sessions in related areas such as pancreatic cancer (the source of many potential treatments for cholangiocarcinoma), hepatocellular cancer, tumor biology and immunotherapy. I also attended a very interesting session on the role of palliative care and another on the impact of factors such as age and income level on outcomes of cancer treatment. The topic generating the most excitement at the convention was immunotherapy. Several of the major drug companies are conducting clinical trials of new drugs that trigger the immune system to destroy malignant tumors. Although the new drugs have not yet been tested in cholangiocarcinoma, they show promise in a number of solid tumors.
Although there were no major sessions addressing cholangiocarcinoma, there were a number of researchers presenting poster boards summarizing their research in cholangiocarcinoma. (Percy has already provided you information about some of the more interesting research.) I introduced myself to several of these doctors, most of whom were happy to discuss their research with me, and shared information with them about the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. I also had the opportunity to stop by the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation’s booth in the ASCO patient advocacy section of the exhibit hall and also to have dinner with Marion, Percy, Barbara and Stella. We are fortunate to have a team of such devoted people working so hard on our behalf.
While I did not learn about a potential cure or even a specific new treatment for cholangiocarcinoma, I did come back with more hope for the future. New understanding about tumor biology, targeted therapy and immunotherapy is changing the world of cancer treatment. Cancers that had few treatment options five years ago are now being managed and sometimes even cured. We need to do all that we can to increase awareness of cholangiocarcinoma and encourage more research on this rare disease.
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