Two Top Five Lists in Oncology have been developed as part of ASCO's participation with the Choosing Wisely campaign, an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation aiming to get physicians, patients, and other health care stakeholders thinking and talking about the value of each medical test, procedure, and treatment. The first list was released in April 2012 and the second on October 29, 2013. Both highlight five tests, procedures, and treatments that are commonly used in cancer care but not supported by evidence and should be questioned.
2013 List
Learn more about ASCO’s second Top Five List in Oncology:
Cancer.Net Patient Summary: Choosing Wisely® 2013: ASCO’s Second List of the Top Five Cancer-Related Tests, Procedures, and Treatments That Many Patients Do Not Need
- Topic #1: Use of Medications to Prevent Vomiting Intended for Chemotherapy with a Low Risk of Causing Nausea or Vomiting
- Topic #2: Chemotherapy with Multiple Drugs Instead of with One Drug for Breast Cancer that Has Spread
- Topic #3: Follow-up PET or PET-CT Scans to Watch for a Cancer Recurrence
- Topic #4: PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer in Men with No Symptoms of the Disease
- Topic #5: Do Not Use Therapy Targeted Against a Specific Gene Mutation When a Patient’s Tumor Does Not Have That Gene Mutation
Cancer.Net Podcast: The 2013 Top Five List in Oncology: What This Means for Patients, with ASCO CMO Richard Schilsky, MD (2013–2021)
2012 List
Learn more about ASCO’s first Top Five List in Oncology:
Cancer.Net Patient Summary: Choosing Wisely® 2012: Top Five Cancer-Related Tests, Procedures, and Treatments That Many Patients Do Not Need
- Topic #1: Cancer-Directed Treatments at the End of Life
- Topic #2: Imaging Tests for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer
- Topic #3: Imaging Tests for Early-Stage Breast Cancer
- Topic #4: Follow-up Tumor Marker Tests and Imaging Tests for People Treated for Breast Cancer
- Topic #5: White Blood Cell Growth Factors for Preventing Infection
Para leer la lista de los “cinco principales” en español, haga clic aquí.
Cancer.Net Podcast: The 2012 Top Five List in Oncology - What This Means for Patients, with Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO
Learn more in these Consumer Reports handouts for patients about the 2012 Top Five List in Oncology. This publication is a partner in Choosing Wisely campaign.
Consumer Reports: Care at the End of Life for Advanced Cancer Patients (Topic 1; PDF)
Consumer Reports: Imaging Tests for Early Prostate Cancer (Topic 2; PDF)
Consumer Reports: Imaging and Tumor Marker Tests for Breast Cancer (Topics 3 and 4; PDF)
Consumer Reports: Drugs to Boost White Blood Cells for Cancer Patients on Chemotherapy (Topic 5; PDF)
General Resources
Learn more about the two Top Five Lists in Oncology and the Choosing Wisely campaign:
ASCO.org: Choosing Wisely - Learn more about ASCO’s efforts to develop these lists for oncology.
ChoosingWisely.org: Visit the ABIM campaign website.