Medicine
Highlights of 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting
Like most 2020 meetings the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, held 5-8 December, was hosted virtually. Due to meticulous planning, the format did not prevent…
Highlights of 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
In 2020, the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) co-organised in association with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) celebrated its 43rd year as the world’s premier annual breast…
Thank you virologists! – Nobel Prize spotlights virus-associated cancers
With the 2020 Nobel Prize going to three scientists who led on the discovery of the hepatitis C virus, Adriana Albini acknowledges the valuable contributions that these and other virologists…
Smoke without fire? Should cancer of unknown primary be treated as a separate disease?
Pathology-based treatment approaches are not effective in many cases of CUP due to its elusive biology. We examine the arguments for switching to a tissue-agnostic approach that targets actionable mutations…
Does it work for my patient? A pragmatic approach to building evidence on clinical effectiveness
Momentum is growing behind efforts to ensure new cancer therapies do not enter the market without any strategy for developing the evidence that patients and their doctors need to make…
Are tumour-agnostic approaches the future for oncology?
Never mind what or where it is, just look for the target. Rachel Brazil asks whether this will be the new paradigm for treating cancer, and explores the challenges this…
Artificial intelligence for skin cancer diagnosis, from science-fiction to reality
Visual data are highly suited to being handled by machines. That’s why dermatology is a candidate for an artificial intelligence-driven revolution. Automated screening and diagnosis of skin cancer will become…
Real world data: can we rely on it to shape cancer policies and practice?
The digital era has opened up huge possibilities for collecting, storing and analysing data. How wonderful if it could be harnessed to answer questions that would allow us to get…
CCC-19 and TERAVOLT studies show strength and limits of research on cancer and COVID-19
Results from two international studies presented at ASCO show what can be achieved in a very short time with good collaboration. But disparities in the mortality rate figures point to…
Evidence-based medicine and precision medicine – irreconcilable or inseparable?
How do you build an evidence base to inform treatment choices that are tailored to the unique genomic profile of each patient and their disease? Sophie Fessl talks to some…