The AJMC® Precision Medicine in Oncology compendium is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights for molecular profiling of tumors.
This Week in Managed Care: August 23, 2019
August 23rd 2019This week in managed care, the top news included outcomes results in treating heart failure; US prevention experts said more women should get BRCA testing; the American Heart Association offered an advisory on treating high triglycerides with prescription omega-3 fatty acids.
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More Women May Be Screened for BRCA Mutations Following USPSTF Guideline Update
August 21st 2019The update to the 2013 recommendation includes a grade B recommendation that women with a personal history of breast, ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer, and women with ancestry associated with BRCA1/2 mutations be assessed for the genetic mutations.
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MDM2 Antagonists Help CDK4/6 Inhibitors Overcome Resistance in Melanoma
August 21st 2019Outside of breast cancer, cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors have not been as successful as tumors develop resistance. New research shows that a murine double minute (MDM2) antagonist can help CDK4/6 inhibitors overcome resistance, offering a potential second-line treatment option in melanoma.
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Dr John Fox Discusses Expanding Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Across Several Cancers
August 12th 2019John Fox, MD, MHA, vice president of Clinical Transformation at Spectrum Health, reacts to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's call to expand comprehensive genomic testing across several cancers.
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New Understanding of PARP Inhibitors Could Expand the Number of Patients to Treat
August 9th 2019A new understanding of how poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors work could expand the patient populations who are treated, according to a study. The researchers also identified a potential biomarker to indicate which patients would benefit the most.
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Underlying Pathway in Lung Cancer Could Identify Appropriate Targeted Treatments
August 3rd 2019Research has uncovered 2 pathways through which lung adenocarcinoma can develop, and that knowledge could help target treatments to patients who will benefit the most, according to a new study published in Cancer Cell.
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Dr John Fox on the Economic Value of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling
July 31st 2019Whether or not there is economic value of comprehensive genomic profiling likely depends on what tissue type and what tumor type we’re talking about, explained John Fox, MD, MHA, vice president of Clinical Transformation at Spectrum Health.
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Sue Friedman Outlines Misconceptions Regarding Genetic Testing in Cancer
July 23rd 2019Many people associate the BRCA mutations with breast and ovarian cancer and mistakenly think they, and other genes that contribute to cancer, don’t affect men, said Sue Friedman, DVM, executive director of FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered.
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Neil Goldfarb Discusses Employers Covering Precision Medicines
July 13th 2019As expensive precision medicines come to market, employers are willing to cover the costs if these medicines are shown to work and improve patient experience or outcome, said Neil Goldfarb, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Philadelphia Business Group on Health.
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Blinatumomab Reduces MRD Prior to HCT in Pediatric Patients With B-ALL
July 10th 2019Pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with minimal residual disease (MRD) who were treated with blinatumomab proceeded to hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) without delay and had limited side effects.
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Undetectable MRD Status in Patients With CLL
July 1st 2019Achieving undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD) status is important for deep and durable responses in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to 2 abstracts presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
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Assessing MRD Status in Patients With MM By Risk Status
June 29th 2019While minimal residual disease (MRD) is being used to assess response to treatment in multiple myeloma (MM), the level of risk a patient has can make a big different in how well MRD works as a prognostic indicator, according to 2 abstracts presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
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Dr Jeanne Tie Outlines How a Blood Test Can Detect Early Stages of Cancer
June 25th 2019A new blood test being worked on can detect 8 common cancer types in a way that is less invasive than other tests, said Jeanne Tie, MBChB, FRACP, MD, medical oncologist and associate professor at the Walter+Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.
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Removing Barriers to Improve the Use of Diagnostic Tests for Precision Cancer Care
June 21st 2019Currently, the number of patients who are actually utilizing precision cancer care treatments is small, but it is growing fast. As that happens, physicians will need to get comfortable with ordering the right tests, explained Clynt Taylor, chief executive officer of Intervention Insights, and Lee Newcomer, MD, formerly of UnitedHealth Group.
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COTA, FDA Partner to Better Understand How to Tailor Cancer Treatments in the Real World
June 19th 2019The FDA is partnering with COTA, a precision medicine technology company, to gain better insight into treatment variation within subpopulations of patients using real-world data. The program will start with breast cancer and may expand to other cancer types.
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Sue Friedman on Targeted Therapies and Knowing Family History of Cancer
June 13th 2019Genetic testing and understanding family history of cancer is important because more and more targeted therapies are coming out that are designed to work with specific mutations or inherited forms of mutations, said Sue Friedman, DVM, executive director of FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered.
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Dr Jeanne Tie on How ctDNA Helps Guide Decisions in Cancer Care
June 8th 2019Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can now allow clinicians to better understand which patients are at high risk of recurrence and should be offered intensified chemotherapy, said Jeanne Tie, MBChB, FRACP, MD, medical oncologist and associate professor at the Walter+Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.
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BRCA1/2 Mutation Status May Not Be Predictive of Checkpoint Inhibitor Response
June 3rd 2019Contrary to conventional wisdom, higher levels of genomic instability have been associated with lower immunogenicity, which means drugs are less effective, in patients with BRCA1/2-related breast cancers, according to research published in Clinical Cancer Research.
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Maintenance Olaparib Aids PFS in BRCA-Mutated Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer, but Not OS
June 2nd 2019Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer linked to germline genetic mutations did not see their disease worsen for an additional 3.6 months when treated with olaparib, but an early interim analysis did not show a statistically significant difference in overall survival (OS), according to study results presented Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting 2019.
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MRD Testing Is Valid in the Real World, Can Be Cost-Effective Over Lifetime of Patients With MM
May 31st 2019Testing for minimal residual disease (MRD) is increasingly being used in patients with cancer because deep MRD negativity is associated with better outcomes for patients and MRD status can help make decisions regarding treatment. Two abstracts presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting validated use of MRD testing in the real world and found it was cost-effective.
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FDA Approves First Breast Cancer Drug to Target PIK3CA Mutation Plus Companion Diagnostic Test
May 28th 2019FDA approved alpelisib (Piqray), an oral drug to be used in combination with endocrine therapy fulvestrant for the treatment of men and postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR-positive), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, PIK3CA-mutated, advanced or metastatic breast cancer following disease progression on or after an endocrine-based regimen.
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Feyi Olopade Ayodele Discusses Lifestyle Factors that Increase the Risk of Cancer
May 26th 2019Things like smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise can increase a person’s risk of developing cancer, but there are some things that are actually more clinically acute outside of family history that every patient needs to look out for, explained Feyi Olopade Ayodele, MBA, chief executive officer at CancerIQ.
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