BACK of the BOOK
Heard in the Blogosphere
The Biden Cancer Summit
In September 2018, former Vice President Joe Biden and
Jill Biden, EdD, hosted the national Biden Cancer Summit to
bring together clinicians, researchers, and patients to share
information about the latest therapeutic discoveries in oncol-
ogy. Below is a selection of updates from the summit:
Roy Jensen, MD
@RoyJensenMD
Love the Laura Esserman
quote “our treatments
need to look more like
trials and our trials need to
look more like treatments”
#BidenCancerSummit
Has Transparency Helped Prevent
Corruption in Medical Research?
“Disclosure is better than no disclosure, but it does not eliminate
the conflict of interest. It’s simply a way of saying caveat emptor,
and leaving it to readers to decide whether the research was biased.
But most people – even doctors and science reporters – aren’t really
equipped to make those judgments, particularly when data are
suppressed. … Collaboration with industry can lead to important
scientific contributions, but we should not let drug companies buy the
hearts and minds of researchers. The cost of this is high, and not just
in drug prices. It means both doctors and patients believe prescription
drugs are better and safer than they really are.”
—Marcia Angell, MD, on the uneasy collaboration between clinician-researchers and the
pharmaceutical industry, in The New York Times
Donna Young
@DonnaYoungDC
@DrBiden: If we never spent another dime on finding new cures,
we could still save thousands of lives by doing one thing: breaking
down the barriers & sharing the knowledge that already exists.
Luke Timmerman
@ldtimmerman
@wilbanks says we can’t just put EHRs together and then
cures will magically fall out. Building big databases not the
answer. We have to start with the queries researchers want to
ask, and then build, working backwards.
Biden Cancer Initiative
@BidenCancer
Thank you so
much for joining
us today during the
#BidenCancerSummit.
Together we can make
hope real. This is only the
beginning.
The Ambiguities of At-Home Genetic Tests
As genetic testing has become more accessible, people are using
at-home tests to determine whether they harbor a genetic mutation
that they may pass on to offspring or that increases their risk of
developing a disease. However, the tests have limitations, and
their results can be difficult to determine without the assistance
of a clinician or genetic counselor. On NPR’s “Morning Edition,”
geneticists and representatives from genetic-testing companies
spoke about the pros and cons of these tests.
“Individuals should be evaluated
by medical professionals who are
not conflicted, meaning they do
not somehow work for a [genetic-
testing] company. Doctors who
are contracted by companies
are going to say, ‘Do the test’ no
matter what, even if the test may
not be indicated.”
—Louanne Hudgins, MD, president of the American
College of Medical Genetics and Genomics
Follow ASH and ASH Clinical News on:
@ASH_Hematology, @BloodJournal,
@BloodAdvances, and @ASHClinicalNews
Facebook.com/AmericanSocietyofHematology
“This health-related testing is
probably the next big step in
using genomic information in our
lives. … I’m really hoping that
the security practices associated
with genetic information are
quite strong. The companies say
they’re strong. Time will tell if
that’s true.”
—Robert Cook-Deegan, MD, a health-policy
researcher the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke
University School of Medicine
“It’s an unfortunate development
that will likely cause considerable
mischief. What people deserve
is well-thought-out information.
The only people who will really
benefit are the investors in these
companies that market these
incomplete and misleading
tests.”
—James Evans, MD, PhD, a professor of genetics
and medicine at the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill
“The majority of doctors have had
maybe one class in genetics. I think
it’s much more important to have
someone who has a background
in genetics than just simply have
someone who you can physically
meet with.”
—Othman Laraki, CEO of Color Genomics, a genetic
testing company
@ASH_Hematology
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ASH Clinical News
November 2018