As we enter a new year, the time is ripe to remember the goals of The ASCO Post (TAP) and consider how we've been doing so far. The ASCO Post was launched last June as a newspaper for the oncology community, covering broad areas of multidisciplinary cancer care with thoughtful opinion pieces from leaders in the field. The publication quickly found its niche in the busy field of oncology "tabloids" with a balance of news reports, features, and editorials. Each issue offers important information on clinical research, health-care policy issues, and technologic advances, as well as personal perspectives on the day-to-day practice of oncology.

I readily agreed to assist in editing The ASCO Post because I thought it would be a good way to help stay current about cancers that I do not treat, which is everything but breast cancer.  My expectations have been met and in many ways exceeded.

We are curious about your expectations, too, and how The ASCO Post can best serve your needs. We encourage you to write to us at Editor@ASCOPost.com to let us know what issues and topics you would like to see covered in this publication.

Inside The ASCO Post

I have found the bullet point summaries in each story to offer useful reinforcement of key issues, and the Expert Point of View sidebars to provide good complementary perspectives on the news reports. Likewise, the Pro/Con, or "TAP Caucus" editorials have contained enlightening debates, and I look forward to more of these discussions by our colleagues in surgery, radiation therapy, radiology, and pathology.

"TAP on Technology" is a feature designed to provide reviews of new technology and scientific research. Although I have certainly discussed the option of robotic prostatectomy with patients and house staff at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, I have a much clearer understanding of the procedure after reading the article, " Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy: Risks and Benefits," in the November 2010 issue.

What other areas of new technology and clinical research would you like to read about?

Our Responsibilities in the Oncology Community

I was not surprised that reading The ASCO Post has broadened my clinical and scientific knowledge. I did not, however, expect the burgeoning realization about the problems oncology is facing and the seriousness of these issues such as the "Doc Fix" and new endpoints for evaluating expensive biologic agents.

All of us in the oncology community have a responsibility to be better informed, to be part of a constructive dialogue, and to shoulder some responsibility for ensuring the future of quality cancer care. Engaging in dialogue with our peers in a public forum developed specifically for the oncology community, such as The ASCO Post, is one such means to this end.

The ASCO Post can and should serve as a forum to foster active discussion on the multidisciplinary treatment of cancer patients and care plans that deliver the best treatment without duplication of effort or increase in expense.

Oncologic medicine works best when it is collaborative, and we must understand the views and needs of scientists, physicians, payers, and all the other participants in our complex health-care system. Dialogue is more difficult, with its invitation to disagreement. It takes time and access to a forum; certainly, however, The ASCO Post can be one such forum. ■

Dr. Reed is Professor, Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.