Jaime Rosenberg

More than half of octogenarians and nonagenarians with stage III non–small-cell lung cancer did not receive treatment, according to a study in CANCER. Older age, black race, and living in a lower educated census tract were found to be risk factors for not receiving treatment.

Maine Community Health Options is seeking $5.6 million from HHS, claiming the department failed to reimburse marketplace insurers for cost-sharing reductions for 2017. Under section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act, an insurer participating in the marketplace is required to offer CSR plans, and in return will be guaranteed reimbursement by the government.

Syapse, a leading precision medicine company, and Roche have joined forces to advance precision medicine in oncology. They will work together to bring real-world data to providers, bring oncology into the value-based care era, advance patient-reported outcomes, and optimize clinical trial recruiment.

Eisai’s multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib and Merck’s anti–PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab as a combination therapy for patients with renal cell carcinoma received the designation based on results from the renal cell carcinoma cohort in Study 111.

A report from the American Cancer Society estimated new cancer cases and deaths for 2018 and took a look at the most recent data to determine cancer incidence through 2014 and mortality through 2015.

The approval will expand the currently approved indication for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors to also include patients with multiple myeloma.

Although an additional one-time screening at any age between 15 and 30 yields important gains in HIV diagnosis rates and life expectancy for HIV-infected people, screening at age 25 would provide the most favorable clinical outcomes and the best value for money, according to a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

As health IT continues to have a growing impact, new draft guidances, regulations, and innovations have been introduced to better enhance interoperability and the healthcare experience for both providers and patients. The arrival of 2018 brought multiple updates in health IT that will likely have lasting implications.

While chemotherapy with thoracic radiation has been established as the standard of care for the initial treatment of non-metastatic small-cell lung cancer, a large proportion of patients do not receive these treatments and in turn have lower overall survival, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.

A federal judge dismissed a move to block 340B cuts days before CMS’ final rule on it went into effect.

Carfilzomib was associated with higher rates of all-grade and high-grade cardiovascular adverse events (CVAE), and both later trial phase and higher doses of carfilzomib were associated with higher rates of CVAE, according to a study in JAMA Oncology.

New analyses focused on how health spending has changed over time, as well as the driving forces behind the spending growth.

A pre-treatment signature of proteins used to predict survival in patients with metastatic melanoma receiving PD-1 inhibitors found that patients deemed sensitive by the test demonstrated significantly better overall survival.

The Trump administration dismissed the remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS as it prepares to appoint members to the 2018 council.

Checkpoint inhibitors, compared with docetaxel, are associated with significantly prolonged overall survival in second and later lines of treatment for advanced non–small cell lung cancer, according to study findings published in JAMA Oncology.

The authors of a study published in JAMA Cardiology assessed the relationship between growth in Medicaid expenditures and decreased mortality over a 15-year period.

After 14 weeks of treatment, both once-daily doses (15 mg and 30 mg) of upadacitinib met the study’s primary endpoints of low disease activity and ACR20 versus continuing methotrexate therapy.

Patients cared for by physicians in their first year as hospitalists have worse 30-day and hospital mortality when compared with more experienced hospitalists.

While FoundationOne CDx, the comprehensive companion diagnostic test for solid tumors, gives patients the ability to be accurately matched with a targeted therapy, it also has potential benefits for patients with a less common types of cancers, said Stuart Goldberg, MD, chief scientific officer, Cota, in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®.

Based on long-term observations, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor utilization is a safe and effective treatment to prevent infections and improve quality of life in patients with cyclic neutropenia, according to an analysis in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Articles on type 2 diabetes management, colon cancer screenings, and anti-rheumatic drug approvals topped the list.

The FDA's 2013 accelerated approval of pertuzumab for neoadjuvant use was converted to full approval as part of treatment for patients with HER2-positive, locally advanced, inflammatory, or early-stage breast cancer.

There are no clinically meaningful differences in the safety profile of B12019 and pegfilgrastim, according to study findings presented at the American Society of Hematology’s 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia.

A Commonwealth Fund analysis found that during the 3-year period, the uninsured rate for adults aged 19 to 64 dropped in all 50 states and the District of Colombia. The majority of states also saw less financial barriers to care and more coverage for children and low-income adults

Increasing levels of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are associated with prolonged survival in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, endometrioid ovarian cancer, and mucinous ovarian cancer, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.

A study published in JAMA Oncology found that prediagnosis inflammation was associated with at-diagnosis sarcopenia, and the combination of the 2 nearly doubled the risk of death in patients with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer. Because the 2 biomarkers are commonly collected and potentially modifiable, there is potential for clinical use in prognostication and guiding intervention.

"The Oncology Drug Marketplace: Trends in Discounting and Site of Care," commissioned by the Community Onoclogy Alliance and conducted by Berkley Research Group, found that 340B hospitals have a clear financial incentive to expand oncology services; 340B hospitals receive over one-third of all Part B oncology drug reimbursement; a disproportionate share of the shift in site of care is attributable to 340B hospitals; and between 2010 and 2015, statutory discounts and rebates paid by manufacturers have almost tripled and put upward pricing pressure on drugs.

The majority of women who underwent a lumpectomy or a mastectomy reported not feeling fully informed of their treatment options, but the use of Web-based decision aids can help patients become informed, according to results of 2 new studies published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

The FDA has announced its launch of the “Every Try Counts” campaign, which will encourage smokers to quit by advertising messages of support underscoring the health benefits of quitting. The campaign will also focus on celebrating each quit attempt as a step towards success.

Commissioned by the University of Utah Health and conducted by Leavitt Partners, the Value in Health Care Survey identified how 3 key stake holder groups (patients, physicians, and employers) define value and prioritize 3 components of the concept (quality, service, and cost).