ASCO 2023

Geriatric oncology was again, front and center at this year’s American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO)’s Annual Conference, and in no small part due to CARG’s marked presence at the conference. The conference took place over five action-packed days across June 2-6, in Chicago, IL, at the McCormick Place Convention Center and online. With CARG members doing keynote presentations, connecting during the event, and giving over a dozen presentations, the Cancer and Aging Research Group certainly made a splash at ASCO. Here are a few highlights.

Awards and Nominations

Winner of the 2023 B.J. Kennedy Geriatric Oncology Award Winner and CARG member Dr. Hans Wildiers MD, PhD was a Keynote Speaker at ASCO 2023 Meeting.  Dr. Wildiers is a medical oncologist dedicated to breast cancer research. He has served as a staff member in the Department of Medical Oncology at the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium, since 2004. Since 2015, he has been the coordinator of the Leuven Multidisciplinary Breast Center. He has also been the coordinator of several academic studies in the field of breast cancer and geriatric oncology and is the author of more than 350 peer-reviewed papers. He has been active on the Board of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology for many years and served as the organization’s president from 2018 to 2020. From 2009 to 2015, he chaired the Cancer in the Elderly Task Force of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.  Read more about Dr. Wildiers here: Link

Presentations:

About 18 members of CARG covering topics related to Shared decision-making for older adults with cancer using available treatment tools, Geriatric Oncology Assessment to Implementation to developing sustainable geriatric oncology practices, and everything in between, see highlights below!

1. Merging Molecular and Aging Assessments to Guide Therapy in Older Patients With Myeloma: Shakira Grant, MBBS. Link
2. Practical Geriatric Assessment: William Dale, MD, PhD and Heidi Klepin, MD, MS, FASCO presenting with Melissa Wong MD, MAS and Grant Williams as the Co-Chairs, and Anahid Hamparsumian, MD, Rawad Elias, MD, and Fernando Dias, MD as the Vice Chairs. Link
3. How to Effectively Engage With Patient and Caregiver Advocates With Diverse Perspectives in Geriatric Oncology Research: Allison Magnuson, DO, MS Link
4. The Role of Caregiver Advocates in Implementation Science in Geriatric Oncology Research: Lisa M Lowenstein, PhD Link
5. A Patient’s Perspective to Engaging in Geriatric Oncology Research: Chuch O’Shea, BA Link
6. Frailty status determined by an electronic health record embedded frailty index and hospitalization risk among older adults following the initiation of cancer chemotherapy: Heidi Klepin, MD, MS, FASCO Link
7. Distinguishing Old Versus Frail: Carolyn J Presley, MD Link
8. Cost-utility of geriatric assessment in older adults with cancer: Results from the 5C trial. Shabbir M.H. Alibhai, MD, MSc Link
9. Practical Considerations in Geriatric Assessments. Aminah Jatoi, MD Link
10. Geriatrician’s Perspective. Clark DuMontier, MD, MPH Link
11. A Geriatric Oncologist’s Perspective. Kah Poh Loh, MBBCh, MS Link
12. A Medical Oncologist’s Perspective. Melisa L. Wong, MD Link
13. Case Based Panel Question and Answer. Daniel R. Richardson, MD, MSc, MA Link
14. Developing Sustainable Clinical Geriatric Oncology Services Outside the United States. Tina Hsu, MD Link
15. Developing and Sustainably Funding Clinical Geriatric Oncology Programs: Perspectives From a US Cancer Center Director. Andrew E. Chapman, DOLink
16. Creating Community Oncology–Based Clinical Geriatric Oncology Programs. Rawad Elias, MD Link
17. A multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) for the effectiveness of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) with extensive patient coaching on quality of life (QoL) in older patients with solid tumors receiving systemic therapy: G-oncoCOACH study. Cindy Kenis, PhD Link
18. Managing the Lows of Cancer Treatment. Ryan David Nipp, MD Link

Social Events and Meetups