After decades of painstaking progress, cancer care is being transformed into something smarter, kinder and more personalised

EVERY year, tens of thousands of leading cancer researchers descend on Chicago.

- HANNA GEISSLER

They carry with them the hopes of millions of patients and their families.

For five days, the vast halls of McCormick Place Convention Centre on the shores of Lake Michigan become the global frontline in the fight against the disease as scientists unveil breakthroughs that could change clinical practice and save lives for years to come.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting is the world's biggest cancer conference. Yet despite the excitement, experts, those interpreting the data, typically use cautious language.

Wary of creating undue hype or giving patients false hope, they speak blandly about "clinically meaningful improvements", "statistically significant benefits", and "primary endpoints".

And progress in cancer medicine is usually measured in small but important gains - a drug that extends survival by a tiny percentage or a new combination that edges ahead of the previous standard of care.

This is why what happened this year was so extraordinary. When researchers revealed results showing a new daily pill could double survival for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, more than 9,000 oncologists rose to their feet and applauded.

Videos shared online showed the thunderous standing ovation for presenter Dr Brian Wolpin, director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the US.

Breakthrough

The news spread like wildfire on social media, triggering an outpouring of excitement. One expert wrote: "I feel inspired and humbled, to put it mildly - we have a targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer now, and it works!"

During an ASCO press conference yesterday, it was difficult for the panel to get a single quote appropriate for a non-medical audience - one leading expert described how she started crying when she read about the trial.