Latest Conference Articles

Equality in cancer care is not sufficient, said Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, a radiation oncologist from the University of Michigan and president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Equity—which means that patients have similar outcomes, regardless of circumstance—is harder to achieve.

Kirk Shepard, MD, chief medical officer, senior vice president, and head of Global Medical Affairs, Eisai, discusses findings of a study showcasing similar health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores between lenvatinib/pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy in patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma.

Christopher Arendt, PhD, head, Oncology Therapeutic Area Unit, Takeda, speaks on efficacy and safety findings of the OPTIC study examining dose optimization of ponatinib in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) resistant to second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

During the first day of the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a discussion on disparities in women's cancer care highlighted challenges in the United States and overseas.

Robert Iannone, MD, MSCE, executive vice president of research and development for Jazz Pharmaceuticals, addresses findings of an abstract presented at ASCO 2021 which showed preliminary efficacy of lurbinectedin in combination with irinotecan in patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma.

Davey Daniel, MD, hematology/medical oncology specialist, Tennessee Oncology, discusses findings of an abstract presented at ASCO 2021 showing a lower total cost of care paid by Medicare for episodes of care for patients in the Oncology Care Model (OCM) enrolled in clinical trials vs those receiving routine care.

ASCO officials characterized the results as practice changing and said they highlighted the need for genetic testing in patients who receive a diagnosis of high-risk breast cancer.

The 2-day meeting of the American Cough Conference will cover new developments in the treatment of cough, as well as insights into the mechanisms and management of cough, said Peter Dicpinigaitis, MD, chair of the American Cough Conference.

Treating cough can be difficult. There are no FDA-approved therapies on the market in the United States, and companies with drugs in clinical trials have to contend with a large placebo effect.

Matthew Reynolds, PhD, vice president of real-world evidence at IQVIA, discusses findings of a recent paper with the National Pharmaceutical Council on how COVID-19 affected real-world data and research, as well as implications for future studies.

As the cost of therapies increases, US health plans are utilizing tools like step therapy, to ensure patients try cheaper alternatives first, and value assessment frameworks, to assist with the decision-making process.

Mark Trusheim, MS, BS, strategic director at the NEW Drug Development ParadIGmS program and visiting scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explains factors involved when considering whether a therapy would be suitable for performance-based contracting.

It is already known that dual-eligible older adults are at an increased risk for death in the year following a stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), but it previously wasn't known whether dual-eligible status is linked with functional decline after an ICU stay.

With more than 3000 gene therapies in development, payers will have to grapple with the challenges of paying for these innovative but expensive therapies.

Patients with refractory or unexplained chronic cough are concerned about how they appear to others, and it takes them many years to get diagnosed, according to posters presented at the American Thoracic Society 2021 International Conference.

Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD, MS, describes her research on the impact of environmental factors on respiratory health among children.

Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD, a hematologist/oncologist and palliative medicine physician, and former Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA, discusses new collaborations in the health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) landscape.

Farrah Kheradmand, MD, explains the effects of vaping duration on lung function.

During a panel at Virtual ISPOR 2021, speakers presented global perspectives of COVID-19 vaccine rollout and efforts to target vaccine-hesitant communities.

Fernando Holguin, MD, describes the relationship between comorbid metabolic syndrome and pulmonary disease.

Lou Garrison, PhD, professor emeritus in the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Washington, explains what is needed to optimize use of health technology assessment (HTA) in the fragmented US health care system.

During the ATS 2021 International Conference, several studies shed new light on 2 asthma biologics.

J. Jaime Caro, MDCM, FACP, FRCPC, is chief scientist at Evidera, professor in practice at London School of Economics, and adjunct professor of medicine, epidemiology, and biostatistics at McGill University.

The study presented during the American College of Cardiology's 70th Scientific Session called for one group of hospitals to receive special audits and guidance aimed at improving care of patients with heart failure.

The e-cigarette or vaping product use–associated lung injury epidemic helped jumpstart the regulation of flavored e-cigarettes, said Laura Crotty Alexander, MD, ATSF.

Sessions, posters, and late-breaking trials at the American College of Cardiology’s 70th Scientific Session offer updates on vericiguat, SGLT2 inhibitors, sacubitril/valsartan, and heart failure therapies still in the pipeline.

Two posters presented at Virtual ISPOR 2021 analyzed the health care resource utilization and cost of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with pneumonia, as well as the cost savings of treating patients with frequent or severe COPD exacerbations with a fixed-dose triple therapy.

There was consistent, and significant, benefit across all categories of ejection fraction—preserved, reduced, and midrange—but especially among those with preserved ejection fraction, noted Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center.