Oncology

CAR T- cell therapies are among the most expensive ever invented. For now, there’s a lot of uncertainty, as both government and commercial insurers, and a handful of the nation’s leading cancer centers, navigate a reimbursement structure that truly has no precedent.

African American patients and uninsured patients are more likely to have diminished employment participation 2 years after being cancer free than are those with no history of cancer, according to new research published in Cancer.

CAR T-cell therapies tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah, Novartis) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta, Kite Pharma/Gilead) may come with hefty price tags, but the cost-effectiveness of both therapies fell below or within commonly cited thresholds of $50,000 to $150,000 per quality-adjusted life years, according to a report by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review.

Research analyzes the cost of processing healthcare bills; supermarket operator Albertsons will buy drugstore chain Rite Aid; a review of phase 1 clinical trials finds just 1 in 10 children with cancer see improvements.

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have a sustained deep molecular response can maintain treatment-free remission for at least 48 weeks after using second-line nilotinib, according to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Ipililumumab's role in treating melanoma will change, as the immunotherapy will likely become part of different combinations than we see today.

Last year's approval of trastuzumab biosimilar, Ogivri, will be the first competitor to blockbuster drug, Herceptin, for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer since its discovery.

Two stories--of taking part in clinical trials, and of serving as a voice for patients among scientists who run them--highlight how the advances in cancer are built on the trust between those living with the disease and the clinicians on the frontiers of care.

Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center at University of Pittsburgh, notes important value coordinates of breast cancer care.

This review assesses the current molecular testing landscape for non–small-cell lung cancer in the United States.

Cancer survivors may be able to manage the extreme fatigue they experience after treatment by knowingly taking a placebo pill, according to researchers at University of Alabama at Birmingham and Harvard Medical School.

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women who are not known to have a high-risk hereditary cancer syndrome because evidence shows that screening does not reduce ovarian cancer mortality.

Charges for oncology services vary widely across hospitals and impose financial burdens. Further legislation is needed to address disparities in access to high-quality cancer care.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare disease, but it's getting less rare. Study results presented at the American Academy of Dermatology 2018 Annual Meeting found that cases of MCC increased 95% between 2000 and 2013

We developed short patient experience surveys that were sensitive to our broad quality initiative, were meaningful and acceptable to patients, and had good response rates.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Flatiron Health expects to maintain its current business model in the transaction.

Nat Turner, co-founder and CEO of Flatiron Health, says that clinical research accessibility is one of the biggest barriers in oncology care that Flatiron Health is working to remove.

The annual price of monoclonal antibody therapies used in oncology and hematology is about $100,000 higher than those used in other disease states.

First-degree family history was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among women aged 65 and older, and risk associated with family history was not significantly modified by breast density, according to a study in JAMA Oncology.

FDA has approved apalutamide, the first treatment for nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, based on results from a phase 3 study that showed the drug reduced the risk of metastasis or death by 72% and improved median metastasis-free survival by more than 2 years.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) have developed new guidelines on managing immune checkpoint inhibitor-related toxicities.

There is a greater overall survival benefit for patients with recurrent urothelial cancer being treated with pembrolizumab versus chemotherapy, according to long-term results of the KEYNOTE-045 trial.

Last week, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) published its review of the leading oncology pathway vendors in the United States in the Journal of Oncology Practice. The report found that overall, the prominent commercial pathway programs in the United States are aligned with ASCO’s evaluation criteria.