Conflict of Interest Policy and Exceptions

In compliance with standards established by the ASCO Conflict of Interest Policy (J Clin Oncol. 2006; 24[3]:519–521) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Information (ACCME), ASCO strives to promote balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor through disclosure of financial and other interests, and identification and management of potential conflicts. According to the Society’s Conflict of Interest Policy, the following financial and other relationships must be disclosed: employment or leadership position, advisory role, stock ownership, honoraria, research funding, expert testimony, and other remuneration (J Clin Oncol. 2006;24[3]:520).

The ASCO Conflict of Interest Policy requirements apply to all abstract authors. It is the responsibility of the First Author to obtain disclosure information from all coauthors and to provide all disclosure of such interests and relationships through the Abstract Submitter program. Copies of the Disclosure Forms can be sent to coauthors for completion and return before submission of the abstract.

Per the ASCO Conflict of Interest Policy Implementation Plan for CME Activities, all Oral Abstract Presenters will be subject to the same disclosure review and management strategies as faculty who participate in ASCO CME activities.

For clinical trials that began accrual on or after April 29, 2004, ASCO’s Policy places some restrictions on the financial relationships of principal investigators (J Clin Oncol. 2006;24[3]:521). If a principal investigator holds any restricted relationships, his or her abstract may be ineligible for placement in the 2011 Annual Meeting unless the Ethics Committee grants an exception. Among the circumstances that might justify an exception are that the principal investigator (1) is a widely acknowledged expert in a particular therapeutic area; (2) is the inventor of a unique technology or treatment being evaluated in the clinical trial; or (3) is involved in international clinical oncology research and has acted consistently with recognized international standards of ethics in the conduct of clinical research.

When a principal investigator has restricted relationships, the First Author will be prompted to apply to the Ethics Committee for an exception to the Policy. ASCO will collect information on accrual initiation date, financial relationships of the principal investigator, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding upon abstract submission. NIH-funded trials are exempt from the Policy restrictions.

Exception request materials may be uploaded as part of the abstract submission process or e-mailed to coi@asco.org. The final deadline for submission of exception request materials is February 2, 2011.

For more information on the ASCO Conflict of Interest Policy, the Conflict of Interest Policy Implementation Plan for CME Activities, the restrictions on principal investigators, and applying for an exception to the Policy, please visit www.asco.org/conflictofinterest.