ASCO Abstract Preview: ImClone, Genentech

In order to help prepare for the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, better known as ASCO, I've compiled a cheat sheet of significant cancer research abstracts.

Use these abstract numbers and titles to search the ASCO Web site on May 15, starting at 9 p.m. EDT. That's when the cancer research group will be posting the full content of the annual meeting research abstracts online.

This is the first time ASCO has made research abstracts freely available to everyone in advance of its annual meeting, which runs May 31 through June 3. In years past, of course, many of these abstracts, often containing important and potentially market-moving clinical data, have leaked to well-connected Wall Street investors and traders.

That has led to volatile trading in cancer-related biotech stocks in advance of the ASCO meeting. Whether trading volatility ramps up or down this year with abstracts available to everyone remains to be seen. With the list I've put together, however, you should be ready.

Before we get to the list of significant abstracts, here are a few notes:

The ASCO Web site can be found at www.asco.org, where the annual meeting abstracts will be made available in the Annual Meeting Program Online.

As I've warned in the past, ASCO is keeping abstracts for plenary sessions and certain late-breaking presentations under wraps until the start of the meeting. Most importantly, this means that Erbitux results from the FLEX lung cancer study will not be available on May 15. That means ImClone Systems (IMCL) investors will just have to wait a little while longer.