Oncology

The study, commissioned by the Community Oncology Alliance, has found that overall costs for Medicare and commercial health plan enrollees have been increasing at the same rate as the cost of treating patients with cancer. This contradicts the popular notion that cancer care costs have far outpaced overall healthcare spending.

It is imperative that we gather more mature data on a much larger number of patients to accurately assess efficacy, safety, potential harms, durability of response, and impact on disease progression and overall survival of the new immunotherapy treatments.

A new study by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research has found that visits by trained community health workers improved screening rates for breast cancer among Latino women.

Four panelists and 2 moderators discussed the issues surrounding cancer and healthcare in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election during the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference.

John A. Thompson, MD, co-director of the Melanoma Clinic at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, highlighted the major points of his melanoma talk at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s 21st Annual Meeting, including the FDA approval of new drugs and the development of new viral therapies.

There are a number of lessons oncologists have learned as the population of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age grow older, said Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, chief of Division of Hematology Oncology and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

While these "generic" biologicals have been deemed to have the potential to create competition and result in healthcare savings-although not to the extent of generic products-technical issues with manufacturing these products have troubled drug manufacturers.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 21st Annual Conference, Alan P. Venook, MD, professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, provided insight into lessons learned by oncologists in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Now that 1 biosimilar has made it to market in the United States, Pamela S. Becker, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, expects more to follow and that, hopefully, biosimilars will help achieve cost savings for healthcare.

Robert W. Carlson, MD, CEO of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), discussed calculating value in cancer care and the dimensions of NCCN's value assessment framework, Evidence Blocks.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)'s 21st Annual Conference, Robert Carlson, MD, chief executive officer, NCCN, provided a flavor for their value framework, the Evidence Blocks.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference, John A. Thompson, MD, presented an update on where the field of melanoma treatment stands today.

Palliative care should be introduced as early as possible, even as early as diagnosis, so patients hear about it early and not during a late stage of their disease when they might need hospice, Sophia K. Smith, PhD, MSW, associate professor at the Duke School of Nursing, said at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Annual Meeting.

High-quality cancer care must include palliative care in addition to the more traditional care, such as oncology, radiology, surgery, and imaging, Toby C. Campbell, MD, MSCI, associate professor of medicine, hematology-oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and chief of Palliative Care and program director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Training Program, said at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Annual Conference.

During the opening session at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference, healthcare providers came together to discuss palliation from the provider and the patient perspective.

The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence have developed a position statement recommending access to smoking cessation interventions for smokers in the high-risk group who undergo a lung cancer screen.

Among pediatric patients with cancer, fever and neutropenia continue to be a common and potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy.

A study presented at the 47th Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting held in San Diego, found that women with ovarian cancer who received statin therapy in tandem with their cancer treatment had better survival.

Pointing out that high drug prices are access barriers, the Congressmen have urged the government agencies to hold a public hearing to address the issue.

It is imperative that we gather more mature data on a much larger number of patients to accurately assess efficacy, safety, potential harms, durability of response, and impact on disease progression and overall survival of the new immunotherapy treatments.

A study among terminal cancer patients in Japan found that those with a prognosis of days or weeks survived longer when cared for at home.

This week's top managed care stories include a lawsuit between Anthem and Express Scripts, trouble with Medicare's bidding program for diabetes test strips, and the cost of reporting quality measurements.

In a survey conducted by a sales and marketing firm, oncologists, oncology nurses, and oncology administrators have expressed displeasure with the customer experience rendered by oncology manufacturers.

A retrospective research study has identified disparity in the use of the test, primarily driven by race, insurance status, and the type of facility where treatment was administered.

A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that boys who underwent chemotherapy to treat their cancer were less likely to father children.