FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 20, 2008

CONTACT: Dan Sweet
571-483-1355
dan.sweet@asco.org

Presscast Highlighting Studies on Treatment and Patient Response to Cancer Therapies to be held October 28

Alexandria, Va. – Researchers will discuss molecular markers’ potential to further improve and personalize the treatment of people with cancer during an embargoed presscast (press briefing via live webcast) on October 28, 2008, at 12:00 PM (EDT), in advance of the 2008 Annual Meeting on Molecular Markers in Cancer.

The Meeting itself will take place October 30-November 1, 2008, at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, FL, and will feature at least 140 abstracts focusing on molecular cancer markers, which are pieces of DNA that help oncologists better assess the prognosis and treatment of people with cancer.

“We are at many different crossroads of the era of personalized medicine and molecular markers will be the arrows that point us in the right direction,” said Ramona Swaby, MD, spokesperson for the American Society of Clinical Oncology. “The ability to determine patients’ appropriate therapy based on their genetic make-up will revolutionize medicine for the better and the findings being presented at this meeting are leading us one step closer to that ultimate goal.”

Research to be highlighted in the presscast include:

• A study examining predictive biomarkers for determining treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer;
• A study evaluating a calcium-binding protein's ability to predict the response to a pancreatectomy in patients with pancreatic cancer;
• A study exploring alternative methods to test potential responses to receiving Erlotinib in patients with lung cancer.

A working newsroom will be available at the meeting venue for reporters. Experts will be available for comment and perspective upon request. General session topics include (the full meeting program can be accessed at asco.org):

• Detecting, monitoring, and isolating tumor cells;
• The molecular markers of response and resistance in identifying patients for epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor therapy;
• Challenges to importing biomarkers into clinical trials.

The 2008 Annual Meeting on Molecular Markers in Cancer is co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the National Cancer Institute, and the European Organisation of Research and Treatment of Cancer.

Registration: To register to attend the meeting, visit www.asco.org/MMMpresskit08 or contact Kelly Powell at kelly.powell@asco.org or 571-483-1365.

###