Oncology

A study presented at the 2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium hosted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology has identified significant uncertainty on who is responsible for the care of cancer survivors.

The new rule has implications for personalized medicine, because having access to records helps tailor treatments for everything from cancer to chronic conditions.

The results of a new JAMA study underscore the importance of advance care planning in improving the quality of care that patients receive at the end of life.

A review of WalletHub's list of the least expensive states to smoke shows there's a definite relationship between the cost of lighting up and high rates of smoking among adults, based on CDC data.

A new study from England has found that advertisements that promote e-cigarettes with flavors such as chocolate and bubble gum are more likely to attract school children to buy and try e-cigarettes.

Radiologists and breast cancer specialists disagree with the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation of raising the age of screening mammography to 50 years.

This week in managed care the top stories included the announcement of a initiative to cure cancer, pharmaceutical company executives brushed off public outrage over drug prices, and the president's nominee for FDA commissioner has passed his first hurdle.

Less than 50% of patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma between 15 and 39 years of age received recommended care within the first year after their treatment, a Kaiser Permanente study has found.

All this week, the healthcare industry, especially analysts and investors, focused their attention on presentations by CEOs and CFOs at the 34th annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.

A proposal to reduce Medicare Part B payment rates for hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program has been approved 14-3 by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

The National Immunotherapy Coalition has coalesced leaders from large pharma, biotech, academic cancer centers, community oncologists, and a health plan, with the hope of accelerating the development path of next generation immunotherapy in oncology.

The American Journal of Managed Care asked Matthew Banegas, PhD, MPH, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, to comment on his new study published in Health Affairs.

ASCO's Task Force on Clinical Pathways demands greater transparency with pathway development, increased flexibility, and evidence of improved outcomes subsequent to pathway implementation.

Rates of uninsured dropped faster than almost anywhere in the nation, but Kynect is part of "Obamacare," and the new Republican Governor Matt Bevin has vowed that it must go. Advocates have a lot of questions about how hard-to-target populations will be reached and whether grant funds will have to be repaid.

At the J P Morgan Healthcare Conference, Express Scripts' president Tim Wentworth shared the solutions being developed by the pharmacy benefit manager to improve patient access while reducing cost to payers.

Grail, which has raised over $100 million from Illumina and the venture capital firm Arch Venture Partners, has also secured investments from Bill Gates, and Jeffrey P. Bezos.

New guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network regarding cardiac toxicity for patients with cancer or cancer survivors should have cancer institutions talking about how to implement cardiac follow-up for patients, said Crystal S. Denlinger, of FOx Chase Cancer Center.

Following a personal tragedy, vice president Joe Biden has sworn to dedicate his last year in office to help boost cancer research.

What we're reading, January 11, 2016: drug shortages in the emergency departments have quadrupled since 2008; the government has done little to verify people enrolling after Obamacare deadline under special enrollment categories; and Pfizer increased the prices of 100 drugs.

The latest developments across the healthcare landscape and key upcoming conferences to attend.

The increase in medical expenditures and the move to new care models in oncology will necessitate a change in culture for practice staff, said Charles Bane, MD, Dayton Physicians Network in Ohio.

A recent safety trial has found a promising new therapy for type 1 diabetes that uses patients’ own regulatory T-cells instead of the usual immunosuppressive drugs to protect beta cells.

Top managed care stories include Sanofi ending its deal to market Afrezza, Aetna cut ties with America's Health Insurance Plans, and a new study found bankruptcy looms large for cancer survivors.

It's time to finally put an end to “what the market will bear” as a method of pricing prescription drugs.

Solid-organ transplants increase the risk of death due to cancer compared with the general population, a study published in JAMA Oncology has found.