Laura Joszt, MA

The pharmacist is a critical member of the care team to help manage patients on treatment and contain costs of cancer care, said Kirollos S. Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.

After a small number of practices joined the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) in 2023, CMS has made some changes and opened the model back up for new practices to join.

Multiple sessions at ESMO Congress 2024 covered antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which are an emerging therapy that holds great promise in cancer but comes with challenges.

Demonstration projects to show accurate use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cancer care are important to prevent a loss of credibility in the technology, explained Glenn Balasky, executive director, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

The evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) use in cancer care requires evaluation of algorithms before implementation and continual monitoring after, explained Amy Abernethy, MD, cofounder of Highlander Health and former FDA official.

The legalization of recreational marijuana in Minnesota has created daily conversations about how to incorporate the use of cannabis into treatment plans for patients with cancer, explained Marie Parish, PharmD, BCOP, of Mayo Clinic.

While neoadjuvant therapy in stage III or greater melanoma is already the standard of care, new research presented at European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 shows that what therapy is used is important for outcomes.

Using real-world data, researchers compared 2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies with a bispecific antibody, teclistamab, in multiple myeloma (MM).

It’s hard for practicing oncologists to stay on top of the latest clinical data, but good partnerships and clinical decision support tools can assist.

Panelists discussed how the Inflation Reduction Act and the Enhancing Oncology Model are impacting value in cancer care and access to treatment.

The work might take long, but cancer advocate and survivor Matthew Zachary drove home the importance of advocacy to continue improving the lives of patients with cancer and provide them better options.

With the advances in cancer care, focus has mostly been on lamenting the high cost of these innovations instead of making patients and populations healthier, said A. Mark Fendrick, MD, director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan.

During the first fireside chat at the Patient-Centered Oncology Care® meeting, Alyssa Schatz, MSW, of National Comprehensive Cancer Network, discussed work being done to improve care for patients with cancer.

During ESMO Congress 2024, sessions will focus on hot topics in therapeutic areas, such as antibody-drug conjugates; the latest trial data; health policy; and advances in technology.

The transition to value-based care is extremely challenging because everyone is also still being paid by fee for service, said Lalan Wilfong, MD, senior vice president, value-based care, Thyme Care.

There are concerns that the negotiated drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are leading to large provider reimbursement cuts, explained Nick Ferreyros, managing director, Community Oncology Alliance.

As the pharmacist’s role has evolved in the last decade, they’ve become an important part of reducing costs and better managing patients, explained Scott Soefje, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, FCCP, FHOPA, assistant professor, Mayo Clinic College of Medicines and Science.

The rates of discontinuation due to inefficacy or adverse events for biosimilars and originators of etanercept and adalimumab were similar, according to an analysis of a prospective registry.

A heart failure program with a multidisciplinary team provides statistically significant improvements, and 2 countries determine the current prices of semaglutide are not cost-effective for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients with obesity, according to abstracts at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2024.

Despite lacking some data, there is some information on which patients with cancer shouldn’t be recommended cannabis or certain cannabis products, said Marie Parish, PharmD, BCOP, a gastrointestinal oncology pharmacist with Mayo Clinic.

Advances in technology have made active surveillance in men with prostate cancer possible and prevented treatment for men who don’t need it, said Matthew Nielsen, MD, FACS, chair, Department of Urology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Research at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024 evaluated lipid-lowering therapy beyond statins alone in patients with high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Regardless of duration of type 2 diabetes, sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors prevented cardiovascular events, according to research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024.

Patients on specialty medications may face many barriers that prevent them from getting on or staying on therapy, but a specialty pharmacy integrated into a health system can help address these issues, explained Ryan Nix, PharmD, MMHC, of Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy.

Not all patients will want to take triplet therapy, but those with high-volume prostate cancer who are chemotherapy eligible are usually a good fit, explained Neal D. Shore, MD, FACS.

National data sets and registries are able to provide outcomes data and process measures that testify to quality of care being delivered, said Matthew Nielsen, MD, FACS, chair, Department of Urology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Patients with cancer will never completely replace existing pain regimens, but cannabis could be used in conjunction, explained Marie Parish, PharmD, BCOP, a gastrointestinal oncology pharmacist with Mayo Clinic.

The 10th annual meeting of the Family Heart Global Summit will bring together leading scientists and practitioners with patients to discuss treatment of inherited lipid disorders.

The gene therapy giroctocogene fitelparvovec demonstrated superiority compared with the standard of care, routine prophylaxis, in hemophilia A treatment.