ASCO 2011 Breast Cancer Intro Page

CancerNetwork and the journal ONCOLOGY present exclusive breast cancer coverage from the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Follow the stories below and check back for more write-ups of the most important information to come out of this year's event.

Check back here for news and updates on breast cancer coverage from ASCO's Annual Meeting in Chicago.

ONCOLOGY talks with Dr. David Mankoff, professor of radiology, medicine, and bioengineering in the department of radiology at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Mankoff will be one of the co-chairs at the upcoming ASCO session on molecular imaging in cancer clinical trials, and he gives us a preview of what some of the highlights of the session are likely to be, as well as some insights into his own work.

David Mankoff, MD, PhD

ONCOLOGY: While your work is not directly in this area, can we get your opinion on the topic of breast cancer screening as a whole-we know that the recommendation is that people who are 40–49 no longer need annual screening, yet a newer study has said that annual screening finds breast cancers earlier and can result in more effective treatment.

MANKOFF: I would first like to make the caveat that I’m not a breast imager and my research isn’t really centered around screening. That said, this is a very confusing and controversial area. The recommendation reviewed studies and some epidemiologic data that were available and came to a different conclusion than had prior recommendations, and I think in general this is an area where there is a fair number of reasonable arguments on both sides. This has become a very individualized decision point for women and their physicians. . . .

Click here to read more and listen to a podcast of this interview