There is a concern that physicians/researchers are inappropriately profiting (by buying or selling stock) from information derived from advance copies of high-impact clinical trial data distributed by medical conferences or journals. Despite these concerns, it has never been systematically evaluated, and little is known about the degree to which it exists. This is largely due to difficulties associated with directly verifying whether or not such activities have taken place and, furthermore, many medical conferences/journals today have taken the necessary actions to guard against this. One medical association in particular, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO responsible for conducting the largest annual oncology-related medical conference), only began responding to such concerns several years ago. Their actions during that time serve as a compelling case study, with wide-ranging ramifications, and provide the unique opportunity to delve into this phenomenon.

Up until 2008, ASCO selectively and discreetly distributed abstracts from all forthcoming presentations (at the ASCO Conference) to ASCO members two weeks prior to it becoming publicly accessible during the conference.