Oncology

The value of genetic testing in breast cancer is subject to debate, but it also holds promise. One recent clinical trial simulated by a group of researchers, for instance, found that the 7 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (7SNP) genetic test for breast cancer was cost-effective when used for MRI screenings in patients at intermediate risk of developing the disease over their lifetime.

All the economic studies of genomic tests for breast cancer rely on modeling rather than randomized controlled trials or other direct trial data.

Cancer drug prices have doubled in the past decade, from an average of $5,000 per month to more than $10,000.

Progress in treating multiple myeloma, or cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow, has advanced significantly over the past decade. Today, questions about the disease often involve finding a treatment that balances the goal of putting a patient into remission especially if stem cell transplantation is a possibility against the toxicity of the treatment itself.

With grants from government sources looking less certain, partnerships between academic research center and pharmaceutical companies are more important than ever to keep breakthrough hematology therapies in the pipeline, said Burt Adelman, MD, a hematologist who serves as executive vice president and chief medical officer for Dyax Inc.

New therapies to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) will receive plenty of attention this week at the 55th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans. At an education session that opened the meeting Saturday, a physician with the Mayo Clinic made it clear that cost considerations are a reality for many older patients.

Research on how tools impact health, costs is 'inconclusive,' but clinicians say better-informed patients avoid unnecessary care, frustration