Oncothon: ASCO And Cancer Drug Development

Oncothon is a telethon spanning 24 hours, dedicated to gathering donations for childhood cancer research. Professor Clifford Hudis, CEO of ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology), will represent ASCO’s activities in pediatric cancer drug development.

Speakers 

Clifford Hudis serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and holds the position of Executive Vice Chair of its Conquer Cancer Foundation. His involvement with ASCO spans various leadership roles, including serving as President during the Society’s 50th anniversary year (2013-14).

Before his full-time engagement with ASCO, Dr. Hudis was the Chief of the Breast Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City, and also a Professor of Medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Hudis is dedicated to driving ASCO’s strategic objectives, focusing on research, and education, and ensuring high-quality, equitable patient care for the Society’s nearly 50,000 members.

Moderator

Gevorg Tamamyan is the Editor-in-chief of OncoDaily, Head of the Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Armenia, Chairman and Professor of the Department of Hematology and Pediatric Oncology at Yerevan State Medical University, CEO of the Immune Oncology Research Institute, President-Elect of the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) Group. He is also the Adviser to the Rector of YSMU and the Director of the Yeolyan Hematology and Oncology Center. He is a Co-Founder and Board Member of the Armenian Association of Hematology and Oncology, City of Smile Charitable Foundation, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Cancer and Crisis, and the Former President of the Harvard Club of Armenia.

Dr. Tamamyan is the past chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) IDEA Steering Group and International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) PODC Supportive Care WG, Ambassador of the Society of Hematologic Oncology. He was selected for the ASCO Leadership Development Program and currently is a member of the ASCO International Committee. He is a recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, among them the ASCO IDEA and LIFe Awards, 40 under 40 in Cancer Award, he was recognized as a Young Leader of the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) and Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). 

For more detailed information about Dr. Tamamyan, you can visit the Immune Oncology Research Institute’s website.

Follow the transcript bellow

Gevorg Tamamyan: Great honor and pleasure to introduce, professor Clifford Hudis, the, CEO of American Society of Clinical Oncology, ASCO, who is also the past president of ASCO. He has been leading the organization for many years. And under his leadership, the ASCO, developed very fast and is still developing .ASCO has a special place in my heart because it made a huge, changes in my personal and professional life. Thank you very much, Doctor Hudis, for being with us and for finding a time.

 Let me first give the floor to Doctor Who. This is going to share, the incredible work ASCO is doing, on the field of pediatric cancer and drug development. And then we’ll talk about the great work Pancari is doing.

Clifford Hudis: Thank you very much. I trust you can hear me. I am going to share a brief overview of ASCO’s efforts in drug development globally. I need to begin by pointing out two important things. First, while childhood cancer is part of ASCO’s focus, ASCO was initially founded by adult oncologists, so much of my talk will focus on that.

Secondly, ASCO was founded in the United States in 1964 and had a US-focused perspective for many years. However, this focus has expanded in recent years. I also want to mention that our board of directors always includes a pediatric oncologist.

ASCO has a more complex governance and corporate structure than many may realize. For this discussion, it’s important to highlight that there is a separate ASCO Foundation called Conquer Cancer, which plays a critical role in our global efforts. ASCO’s focus on global oncology has grown due to changes in the world over the 50+ years since ASCO was founded.

The world has improved in many ways, including higher literacy, increased income, and reduced poverty. These economic improvements impact the incidence of common solid tumors in adulthood, which rise with increasing income. ASCO’s challenge is to meet the growing demand for high-quality cancer care globally.

ASCO’s membership now includes a significant international presence, with one-third of members from outside the United States. Oncologists from low and low-middle-income countries can join ASCO without charge and receive full member benefits. This is a nod to the future as we expect these countries to rise economically in the years ahead.

ASCO’s key efforts are focused on three mission pillars: research, education, and promoting the highest quality and equitable care. These pillars drive continuous improvement in global oncology care. ASCO’s programmatic areas include grant making, clinical research, meetings, publications, professional development, advocacy, and practice support.

I want to highlight two specific areas: global efforts and research. ASCO’s targeted agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPER) is a tumor-agnostic clinical trial enrolling patients with various tumor types and targets onto 18 treatments. It serves as a model of distributed enrollment at hundreds of sites and low-cost data collection.

Another real-world study focuses on older women receiving CDK4/6 inhibitors for metastatic breast cancer treatment. This pragmatic study compares the standard dose with a lower dose to measure patient adherence.

ASCO has established regional councils in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe. These councils engage local leaders to increase international member involvement and identify key regional priorities. ASCO runs programs like ASCO Breakthrough and Every Grant in collaboration with regional partners.

In closing, ASCO only conducts clinical trials when there is no other resource or program available to do so, ensuring immediate clinical impact. Thank you for the opportunity to present ASCO’s work and participate in this exciting program today.

Gevorg Tamamyan: Thank you so much, Professor Hood. Thank you very much again. And I’m saying this on behalf of many people, many members of the ASCO and other stakeholders who are benefiting from the ASCO’s work and your work. What you are doing, you mentioned also conquered Cancer Foundation. It it made some sense, for many people, hundreds, thousands of people. It was really a life changer, including for myself and many others. And, thank you again for being today, for having time, for this talk and for supporting us with your presence and for your great, presentation about the problem. Thank you very much.