ReCAP: Pattern of Duplicate Presentations at National Hematology-Oncology Meetings: Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

CONTEXT AND QUESTION ASKED: The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meetings are two of the largest conferences in the fields of hematology and oncology. These meetings are attended by physicians, researchers, pharmaceutical industry colleagues, and representatives from the media and business sectors. The intention of both societies, as stated in their submission guidelines, is to accept abstracts that have not previously been presented. These policies are presumably in place to minimize redundancy and, due to time and space constraints, allow the largest number of researchers to present their findings. Hence, we asked, are there duplicative presentations at these two large meetings, and if so, how often do they occur? METHODS—WHAT WE DID: To date, however, the success of the societies in eliminating duplication has not been carefully analyzed. In addition, the motivations behind re-presentation have not been evaluated objectively. Therefore, we conducted a review of 327 malignant hematology (non-transplantation) abstracts presented at ASCO 2010 and compared them with prior and subsequent ASCO and ASH meetings to evaluate the incidence of duplicate presentations and their relationship to funding sources over a 2 year time frame. RESULTS—WHAT WE FOUND: Our analysis indicated that 31% of accepted abstracts were duplicated during the 2-year time frame, with those indicating pharmaceutical support three times more likely to be duplicated ( Figure 1 ). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE & LIMITATIONS OF DATA: These findings suggest that a substantial number of duplicative abstracts are re-presented, with a disproportionate number having pharma sponsorship. The motivations for duplication are varied but may include an influence of pharma marketing strategies. Although these results are limited by our search strategy and to this 2-year time frame, the results were similar when we analyzed ASH and ASCO 2014 leukemia abstracts. These findings demonstrate the need for a more effective abstract selection system and that further study of the role of marketing in large meetings such as ASCO and ASH would be appropriate. [Figure: see text]