Latest Conference Articles

Lalan Wilfong, MD, vice president of Payer Relations & Practice Transformation at The US Oncology Network, speaks on how use of health economics and outcomes research has benefitted patient care in the community oncology setting and where it can be further leveraged in the pursuit of value-based care.

Jim Schwartz, RPh, corporate pharmacy manager, Texas Oncology, discussed pharmacy challenges regarding equitable care and distribution of specialty drugs in the community oncology setting.

Barbara McAneny, MD, CEO of the New Mexico Cancer Center, who served as president of the American Medical Association (AMA) in 2018, said the AMA has engaged a law firm to take on the issue of curtailing prior authorization, which oncologists say has become worse with increased vertical integration among health plans and pharmacy benefit managers.

Ben Jones, vice president, Government Relations & Public Policy, The US Oncology Network, addresses potential reform at the federal and state level that could accelerate the pursuit of value-based care in the community oncology setting.

A panel on the first day of the Community Oncology Alliance 2022 Community Oncology Conference examines issues that will affect oncology practices in the future.

Michael Diaz, MD, president and managing physician, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, speaks on takeaways from his discussions on site of care and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) at the 2022 Community Oncology Conference.

The first in-person Community Oncology Alliance (COA) meeting in 2 years will feature sessions on practice management, health disparities, and more. A virtual option is available.

Kashyap Patel, MD, chief executive officer, Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associations, and current president of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), previews his discussion on health equity to be held at the 2022 Community Oncology Conference.

Glenn Balasky, executive director of Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, previewed topics and potential takeaways from his discussion on building a community oncology practice for the future at the 2022 Community Oncology Conference.

David Penberthy, MD, MBA, medical director of radiation oncology at Southside Regional Medical Center, discusses his theme as president-elect of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) and what initiatives and discussions he looks forward to addressing over the next year.

A session moderated by the president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) examined the business case for having oncology pharmacists and oncology social workers on community cancer care teams.

The panel said the prior authorization system was intended not just to make sure treatments are necessary but also to ensure that practices get paid; however, it needs a lot of work.

A session on industry reconfiguration covered differed business models for oncology, including payer acquisition of networks and collaboration with academic centers and primary care.

The session opened the 48th Annual Meeting and Cancer Center Business Summit, which is the first in-person meeting in 2 years for the Association of Community Cancer Centers. The meeting is taking place March 2-4 in Washington, DC.

Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates, and current president of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), speaks on what he’s looking forward to for his first in-person Community Oncology Conference as COA president.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology, speaks on the key discussions to be held at the 2022 Community Oncology Conference for in-person attendees.

Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and human genetics and founding director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and Global Health at the University of Chicago Medical Center, explains advancements in BRCA testing and how genetic testing has become standard of care.

Speakers at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH) discussed data on lifestyles, economic trends, and presented real-life examples of obesity treatment, as well as a benefit design for obesity.

Kimberly Westrich, MA, vice president of health services research at the National Pharmaceutical Council, discusses value-based benefit design strategies for high-deductible health plans.

There are 2 such vaccines now in use in the United States; the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is fully approved for the first 2 doses for those 16 and older, and the Moderna vaccine has an emergency use authorization for those 18 and older.

Investigators said pathologic complete response was higher with a molecularly selected subgroup of patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with a nonchemotherapy combination that included a trastuzumab biosimilar.

John Burke, MD, hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, discussed findings of the late-breaking abstract session POLARIX presented at ASH 2021, which compared pola-R-CHP with standard-of-care R-CHOP in patients with previously untreated DLBCL.

Results presented at the 63rd Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting showed that using polatuzumab vedotin instead of vincristine in R-CHOP improved progression-free survival in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Frederick Locke, MD, vice chair, Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy Program, co-leader, Immuno-Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses findings of the phase 3 ZUMA-7 trial presented at ASH 2021 and how use of axicabtagene ciloleucel can be optimally applied in a real-world setting.

Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, professor and deputy department chair in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma in the Division of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses findings of the ZUMA-12 study examining axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) as a first-line treatment option for high-risk patients with large B-cell lymphoma.

Two-third of those who receive a chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) diagnosis are age 65 or older, so the ease with which drugs are covered in Medicare has an outsized role in patient access to care.

Mark Wildgust, PhD, vice president, Global Medical Affairs, Oncology, Janssen, speaks on progression-free survival, complete response, and overall survival benefits observed with ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) in CARTITUDE-1 and other studies presented at the 63rd Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition.

Frederick L. Locke, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, is the lead study author of the phase 3 ZUMA-7 trial, which examined the use of axi-cel in second-line treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL).

Lori Muffly, MD, associate professor of medicine, Blood & Marrow Transplantation, Stanford University, discusses findings of her study showing disparities in clinical trial enrollment and patient outcomes for at-risk pediatric minority populations with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Zanubrutinib produced prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) compared with a combination of bendamustine and rituximab among treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small cell lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL).