2015    The year 2014 marked the 40th anniversary of the International Association of the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), a global organization that works to enhance the understanding of lung cancer among scientists, members of the medical community, and the public.* MASCC and IASLC frequently collaborate to address the challenges of lung cancer, its symptoms, including cough and breathlessness, and their management. The new MASCC Respiratory Study Group has identified breathlessness as its first priority for developing evidence-based guidelines.

2015    MASCC Skin Toxicity Study Group Co-Chair Mario Lacouture has collaborated with Dr. George Dranitsaris of Augmentium Pharma Consulting in Toronto, Ontario, on the development of models for predicting the risks of diarrhea and rash in breast cancer patients being treated with lapatnib and capecitabine.

2014    The MASCC/ISOO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Mucositis Secondary to Cancer Therapy are now included in the National Guideline Clearinghouse™ (NGC). The NGC is a database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents, maintained as a public resource by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Department of Health and Human Services. Inclusion in the NGC is contingent on meeting rigorous criteria, including evidence of a systematic literature review, systematically developed recommendations for optimal care in specific clinical circumstances, and an assessment of the benefits and harms of recommended care. The NGC carries the latest update of MASCC Mucositis Guidelines, published by Rajesh Lalla et al in Cancer in May, 2014 (open access).

2013    At the MASCC/ISOO 2013 International Cancer Care Symposium in Berlin, Dr. Ian Olver presented an evaluation of a Digital Clinical Practice Guidelines Project undertaken by Cancer Council Australia, of which he is Chief Executive Officer.

2012    Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) Receives $8 Million NIH Grant to Conduct First-Ever Study of its Kind. CHS’s Carolinas Medical Center has been awarded an $8 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to study dental and oral medicine outcomes of patients who have received high-dose radiation to the head and neck region. This is the largest research grant ever awarded to CHS. As the awardee organization, CHS will administer the grant, which will be shared across the several sites involved in the study. Each year 40,000 Americans develop head and neck cancer, and many have to receive high-dose radiation therapy, often in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. An unavoidable side effect of radiation therapy is damage to the oral and maxillofacial tissues, some of which persist for the lifetime of the patient.

2012    The Oral Care Study Group conducted a study on the diagnosis and treatment of oral chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). The study was designed to assess common practices, as well as to determine use of the National Institute of Health scale for the diagnosis and grading of oral cGVHD. The project was headed by Sharon Elad, DMD, MSc, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester Medical Center.

2010    The Group Room at the 35th European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Milan, Italy, was the debut of our full video format in Europe and is now available for viewing and posting. Watch all of this year's special feature interviews here. You can also watch these videos and more on the Vital Options YouTube Channel.