Role of Symptom Control and Palliative Care Abstract Presentations
Authors: Jamie H. Von Roenn, David Scheinberg, Patrick J. Loehrer, Catherine Sweeney, Leaha Beattie-Palmer, J. Lynn Palmer, Eduardo Bruera
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2002)

Article Tools SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS Article Tools OPTIONS & TOOLS Export Citation Track Citation Add To Favorites Rights & Permissions COMPANION ARTICLES No companion articles ARTICLE CITATION DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2002.20.3.880 Journal of Clinical Oncology - published online before print September 21, 2016 PMID: 11821480 Role of Symptom Control and Palliative Care Abstract Presentations Jamie H. Von RoennxJamie H. Von RoennSearch for articles by this author , David ScheinbergxDavid ScheinbergSearch for articles by this author , Patrick J. Loehrer SrxPatrick J. Loehrer SrSearch for articles by this author Catherine SweeneyxCatherine SweeneySearch for articles by this author , Leaha Beattie-PalmerxLeaha Beattie-PalmerSearch for articles by this author , J. Lynn PalmerxJ. Lynn PalmerSearch for articles by this author , Eduardo BrueraxEduardo BrueraSearch for articles by this author Show More Chair, ASCO Pain and Symptom Management SubcommitteeChair, ASCO Program CommitteePast Chair, ASCO Program CommitteeM.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2002.20.3.880 First Page Full Text PDF Figures and Tables © 2002 by American Society of Clinical OncologyjcoJ Clin OncolJournal of Clinical OncologyJCO0732-183X1527-7755American Society of Clinical OncologyResponse01022002In Reply:We would like to thank Von Roenn et al for their comments regarding our letter to the editor.1First, we wish to clarify a methodological point. We reviewed all abstracts published in the abstract books of alternate years from 1983 to 1999, rather than just those categorized in sessions related to symptom control and palliative care (SCPC). Hence, if an SCPC-related abstract was published or presented in another session, such as gastrointestinal cancer or head and neck cancer, it would be identified as an SCPC abstract in our study. We acknowledge that in several cases the decision to consider an abstract as primarily SCPC rather than cancer treatment–related was essentially a judgment call. We attempted to resolve this by having those abstracts assessed by two of the authors in order to reach a consensus.Our data found no significant increase (a significant downward trend was observed) in the proportion of SCPC presentations over the years reviewed, as reported in Table 1 of our original Letter to the Editor.1Von Roenn et al outline the excellent progress that has taken place during the last 3 years in the SCPC educational content of the meeting. We agree with the authors that the American Society of Clinical Oncology has a deep commitment to the improvement of symptom control and the establishment of a solid foundation in palliative care in oncology training programs.An increased number of paper presentations in this area may be an excellent way of improving our body of knowledge and patient care expertise in the future. The ideal size of this percentage participation is difficult to estimate as multiple factors influence the content of scientific meetings, including those described by the authors.REFERENCE1. Sweeney C, Beattie-Palmer L, Palmer JL, et al: Changing patterns of symptom control and palliative care paper presentations at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. J Clin Oncol 19:: 3438,2001-3439, (letter) Link, Google Scholar