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ASCO Core Values: Essential to Progress in Innovative, Quality Cancer Care

Department of Medicine/Oncology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA

Advances in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care have converged to result in dramatic changes in cancer mortality. Despite population growth and aging, the past year marked the first decline in cancer deaths in the United States since cancer statistics were initially recorded in 1931, and both early detection and improved treatments have led to an increase in overall cancer survivorship. Today, the total number of cancer survivors in the United States exceeds 10 million, compared with 3 million in 1971. As a member of the oncology community, I am proud of these accomplishments.

However, even in this era of great advances in basic and clinical science—and sometimes because of them—we face significant challenges. The rising costs of oncology treatment and the chasms created by health disparities can preclude equal access to treatment, and the commercial nature of the United States health care industry may create either the perception of or actual conflicts of interest that erode the public trust. We must ensure that these challenges do not slow the pace of research or delay the development and delivery of new oncology products to all cancer patients. Upholding the highest professional standards, ensuring equitable access to treatment, and maintaining the trust of our patients are essential if we are to maintain our momentum.

With these objectives, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recently revised its Core Values to reflect the Society's aspirations and document the fundamental elements of professional ethical behavior in the realm of oncology care: commitment, integrity, competence, innovation, and inclusivity. By articulating these values, ASCO reaffirms its commitment to keep them central to our mission and activities. ASCO advises oncologists to adhere to these principles in their interactions with patients, colleagues and the health care industry. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, readers will find a Special Article by Dr Rebecca Pentz et al¹ in which the authors discuss the history of physician codes, including ASCO's Core Values, and use examples to highlight how these values apply in daily oncology practice.

ASCO strives to abide by these principles in its own work. Through initiatives like the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), which was recently expanded to all members, ASCO has demonstrated its commitment to innovation, maximizing the quality of cancer care, and ensuring provider competence through self-assessment. The work of the Advisory Group on health disparities is evidence of ASCO's dedication to ensuring that cancer care, including the availability of clinical trials, is both culturally sensitive and available to all. A series of vignettes, intended to provide guidance to members on circumstances that raise ethical, as well as medical and scientific, considerations, will be submitted for publication to the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of Oncology Practice.

In addition, ASCO works diligently to preserve the integrity of the Society's activities through its Conflict of Interest Policy, which calls for the identification and management of potential conflicts of interest for ASCO leadership, participants in ASCO committees, and educators and investigators submitting educational and scientific material for presentation or publication by ASCO.

It is my firm belief that excellence in cancer care, prevention, and survivorship must combine professionalism with competence. ASCO is proud to take part in the community-wide effort to attain this goal. In addition to promoting our own set of Core Values, I am pleased that during my tenure as President, ASCO joined more than 100 other organizations in endorsing the Medical Professionalism Project Physician Charter, a statement of principles and obligations that form the basis for the social contract between physicians and society.² It is through such efforts, in which members of the medical community hold themselves and each other to elevated professional standards to earn our patients' confidence and to promote the development and delivery of innovative care, that we can realize these aspirations.

Author's Disclosures of Potential Conflicts of Interest

The author indicated no potential conflicts of interest.

REFERENCES

1. Pentz RD, Joffe S, Emanuel E, et al: ASCO core values. J Clin Oncol 24: 5780-5782, 2006[Free Full Text]

2. ABIM Foundation, ACP-ASIM Foundation, European Federation of Internal Medicine: Medical professionalism in the new millennium: A physician charter. Ann Intern Med 136:243-246, 2002[Free Full Text]

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