Oncology

While medical oncologists, drug developers, and research scientists presented their research findings and novel treatment options in hematological cancers, a special session in the afternoon on the first day of the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), held December 6 to 9 in San Francisco, addressed the aspect of cost of care and the increasing financial burden faced by the cancer patient.

Recent important changes in oncology have led to major advances that allow providers to recommend very specific therapies, said Mark G. Kris, MD, William and Joy Ruane chair in thoracic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The results were presented at the recent Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, a meeting jointly sponsored by the NCI, AACR, and EORTC.

While ASCO is calling to update the 340B drug discount program, hospitals that serve economically diverse populations make a case for the program: "Because of 340B, we don't have to turn patients away when they can't pay."

The American Society of Hematology has added 5 more recommendations to it's Choosing Wisely list, which was published in the journal Blood,

The study, published in NEJM, found that PFS improved by nearly 4 months while ORR improved by nearly 30%.

By distinguishing low- and intermediate-risk patients, Oncotype DX is predicted to avoid over- and under-treatment of prostate cancer patients.

Blincyto, which was considered a promising immunotherapy with a novel mechanism of action, was approved 5 months prior to its PDUFA date.

Absence of a microRNA in TNBC resulted in the overexpression of RASAL2 in those tumors. Patients overexpressing RASAL2 had poorer survival, research showed.

People could be putting their lives at risk by dismissing potential warning signs of cancer as less serious symptoms, according to a Cancer Research UK-funded study published in PLOS ONE. The survey found that nearly 97% of people with symptoms failed to act on them.

A study found new indications for a drug that is widely used in the treatment of osteoarthritis, based on an observation that those on the medication had a lower incidence of several cancers.

Iressa, an EGFR inhibitor, is widely used in the treatment of advanced, metastatic NSCLC.

Failure of the drug in the phase 3 COMET-2 study was anticipated following the reported failure of the earlier COMET-1 trial.

What makes a cancer therapy effective may be in the eye of the stakeholder, even though everyone involved in healthcare decisions relies on evidence-based information. Evidence-Based Oncology, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care, this month publishes a condensed version of the discussion among payers on how to improve collection and use of collection of data to make better evidence-based decisions in oncology.

The NIH-funded study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, identified mutations that are harbored early and could be potential early-onset biomarkers for detection.

A study by the University of Colorado Cancer Center published in the journal PLoS ONE and concurrent phase I clinical trial is examining a new strategy: targeting both important cancer-causing pathways simultaneously.

Early this week, Novation, a healthcare services company that oversees supply chain management, called on Genentech to reverse its decision to use only specialty drug distributors instead of wholesale distributors for its widely used anticancer treatments, Avastin, Rituxan, and Herceptin.

A new RAND study explores the range of possible causes that might explain observed international variations in the usage of medicines for selected disease areas: dementia, osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, and hepatitis C.

There are many dimensions to providing quality cancer care, but they're always tied to aligning the best outcomes with the patient's preferences, Peter P. Yu, MD, FASCO, 2014-2015 president of ASCO, said at the Patient-Centered Oncology Care meeting.

The trial, conducted across various tumor types, monitored PD-L1 expression in biopsy samples before and during treatment with the PD-L1 inhibitor MPDL3280A being developed by Genentech.

Following on the heels of the FDA's advice on the risk of using morcellators for treating fibroids, researchers in France have released results of a study that delineates a method that can avoid the risk of morcellating a pre-existing uterine sarcoma.

Physicians who receive higher reimbursements for routine office visits are more likely to perform cancer screening tests on Medicaid beneficiaries, according to a new study in Cancer.

The study, published in PNAS, identified a gene whose expression could be used as a prognostic indicator and could direct treatment in breast cancer patients.

Genentech's decision to use a handful of specialty drug distributors instead of wholesalers for the distribution of the most commonly used anticancer medications has raised concerns of availability and cost.