CTCAE v4.0 vs ASCO Guidelines
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CTCAE v4.0
This medical reference app provides a standardized system for grading the severity of adverse events related to drug treatments or medical devices. It offers hierarchical navigation, bookmarking, and search functionality for quick access to definitions and grading standards.
- Standardized adverse event grading system
- Definitions for event severity (grades 1-5)
- Hierarchical navigation of categories
- Bookmark frequently used events
- Search across names, definitions, and grades
Read full descriptionHide full description
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) is a standardized system to quantify or grade the severity of adverse events (AE) that occur with drug treatment or from medical devices. A definition of mild (grade 1), moderate (2), severe (3), life-threatening (4) and death related to AE (5) events is provided for each AE term. The CTCAE v4.02 was published by NCI on October 6, 2009, and is used by many healthcare providers and researchers to characterize adverse events consistently. The Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMi) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has converted the 190+ pages of the CTCAE v4.02 document into an intuitive iPhone application. With this application, healthcare providers can reference the full CTCAE v4.02 with an iPhone or iPod Touch, allowing for bedside grading at the time of a visit and generally allowing the information to be accessed from anywhere at any time. The application contains all published grading standards for all 26 categories of adverse events as well as event definitions. The application also offers a variety of advantages over the flat file CTCAE v4.02, including: * Hierarchical navigation of adverse event categories * Ability to bookmark adverse events and categories to quickly access frequently graded events * Search for events across names, definitions and grades This application is one example of the many ways in which CBMi helps transform clinical care and research at our institution and across the industry. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is a non-profit entity as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 460-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu. About The Center for Biomedical Informatics: The Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMi) resides in The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute as the home for development of innovative solutions to healthcare's immediate and long-term informatics needs. We provide informatics-focused services, products, and educational programs to Children's Hospital clinicians and researchers and seek to transform their craft with high-impact, low-cost solutions. For more information, visit http://www.research.chop.edu/cbmi. References: Please note that NCI has directed us to use the May 29, 2009 reference without regard to updates. Our app uses the most updated version of the CTCAE despite our reference to the original. National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0 NCI, NIH, DHHS. May 29, 2009 NIH publication # 09-7473
ASCO Guidelines
Access comprehensive cancer care guidelines and interactive tools to inform treatment decisions. This app supports healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers in implementing recommended cancer care options for various cancer types, aiming to improve the quality of care.
- Guideline recommendations for cancer care
- Interactive treatment decision tools
- Supports healthcare providers
- Informs patients and caregivers
- Covers various cancer types
- Regularly updated content
Read full descriptionHide full description
The ASCO Guidelines app is your go-to tool for implementing guideline recommendations into practice. This user-friendly app provides health care providers, patients, and caregivers with the recommended cancer care options for a variety of cancer types. It also includes interactive tools to inform treatment decisions at the point of care, thus increasing the quality of care provided to patients. The ASCO app is free to members and nonmembers, kept up to date, and will continue to grow as more guidelines and tools are added.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ASCO Guidelines at 4.8 against CTCAE v4.0's 3.5. ASCO Guidelines also leads on review sentiment (57% vs 17%) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 44 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ASCO Guidelines holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ASCO Guidelines has 257 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of CTCAE v4.0's written reviews are positive against 57% of ASCO Guidelines's.
CTCAE v4.0 ships an update every 44 months, ASCO Guidelines every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CTCAE v4.0 | ASCO Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (11 ratings) | 4.8 (257 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.7% of reviews | 57.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 257 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 44 months | Every 5 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.2 — better | 10.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 411 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia | American Society of Clinical Oncology |
Customer experience
CTCAE v4.0
ASCO Guidelines
In-app purchases
CTCAE v4.0
No in-app purchases
ASCO Guidelines
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CTCAE v4.0 free?
Is ASCO Guidelines free?
Which has better reviews, CTCAE v4.0 or ASCO Guidelines?
Do CTCAE v4.0 or ASCO Guidelines have ads?
Which is updated more often, CTCAE v4.0 or ASCO Guidelines?
Other comparisons















