First PD-L1 Inhibitor Approved as Second-Line Treatment for NSCLC
October 19th 2016Atezolizumab, an inhibitor of the programmed death ligand-1 protein, has been approved for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who failed to respond to treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.
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Filling the Donut Hole in Oncology Care With Collaboration and Navigation
October 14th 2016To discuss the progress in care collaboration and also what is currently lacking in care practices in oncology, The American Journal of Managed Care® invited Rebekkah Schear, MIA, LIVESTRONG Foundation, and Michael Kolodziej, MD, Flatiron Health.
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Reducing the Cost of Breast Cancer Treatment by $1 Billion
October 11th 2016A retrospective study in breast cancer patients suggests that patients can lower their out-of-pocket costs by speaking with their oncologist about alternate treatments that may be equally effective and understanding the drug coverage policy of their insurance plan.
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Nivolumab Disappoints, Pembrolizumab May Replace Chemotherapy in Advanced NSCLC
October 10th 2016While nivolumab failed to surpass the outcomes of chemotherapy as first-line treatment in programmed death ligand-1—expressing patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pembrolizumab bettered chemotherapy in improving survival in a similar cohort.
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State-Level Insurance Reform Improved Access for Patients With CRC in Massachusetts
October 6th 2016A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found an increased rate of resection and a reduction in the probability of emergent resection for colorectal cancer (CRC) as a result of insurance expansion in Massachusetts.
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Following Nivolumab, NICE Rejects Pembrolizumab for Use in Patients With NSCLC
October 5th 2016A draft guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) rejected use of Merck's programmed death-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
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PanCAN's Precision Medicine Trial Designed for Collaboration and Personalized Care
October 4th 2016Precision Promise, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN)'s precision medicine trial, seeks to transform outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients with the goal set to double survival by 2020.
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Remarkable Outcomes With Cancer Immunotherapy, but Clinical Adoption Remains Challenging
October 3rd 2016The cancer community has seen tremendous progress in the field of immunotherapy. However, educating patients and care providers across healthcare on this new tool remains a significant challenge.
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ICER Recommends Significant Discount on WAC for Checkpoint Inhibitors in NSCLC
September 30th 2016Based on ICER’s evaluation, a significant reduction in the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of approved checkpoint inhibitors would be necessary to achieve a pre-determined value-based price benchmark.
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Preventive Oophorectomy Contraindicated in Women With an Average Risk of Ovarian Cancer
September 29th 2016Researchers at the Mayo Clinic are recommending that premenopausal women with a low risk of ovarian cancer should be spared unnecessary comorbidities associated with bilateral oophorectomy.
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Need to Revisit Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines: JAMA Oncology Study
September 29th 2016A new study has found that after adjusting for changes in screening, there was a decrease in incidence of all grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) for women 15- to 19-years old, and CIN grade 2 in women 20- to 24-years old.
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Chemotherapy and RT Improve Survival in Surgically Resected Medulloblastoma Patients
September 28th 2016A new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology has found a significant survival advantage of combining chemotherapy and radiotherapy following surgery in patients with medulloblastoma.
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Making Prescription Drugs Affordable Again Via Negotiation
September 27th 2016According to a new proposal by the Center for American Progress, Medicare and private health insurance companies should have the power to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers, empowered by comparative effectiveness research data.
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