Oncology

A prospective study that enrolled more than 10,000 women with hormone-receptor—positive, HER2-negative breast cancer has found that their response to a 21-gene test can identify patients who can avoid chemotherapy.

Palliative care should enter into the discussion with patients with cancer as early as possible as it can manage symptoms from therapy or it can provide comfort to patients who cannot afford or choose to forgo therapy, said Amy Davidoff, PhD, MS. Plus, she discusses the impact biosimilars may have on therapy costs.

Data presented at the ongoing European Cancer Congress has identified a different epigenetic profile in the tumors of younger colorectal cancer patients, information that can help improve treatment options in this population.

Although CMS has introduced a strict timeline to move to value-based payments, its new Oncology Care Model is partially relying on fee-for-service, and that's a good thing in the case of oncology, said Ira Klein, MD, MBA, senior director of quality, Strategic Customer Group at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

Top managed care stories this week include the follow up to the National Academy of Medicine's groundbreaking "To Err Is Human" report, findings on the sharp increase in deductibles, and discussing costs in cancer care.

Developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals, the vaccine has shown the potential to impact precancerous cervical lesions.

Posters focus on next-generation sequencing ovarian cancer and identify candidates for treatment with PARP inhibitors.

The trial, conducted in France, was a proof-of-concept study to evaluate the efficacy of targeted agents in patients, based on their tumor's molecular profile.

Innovative trials offer the promise that patients can be treated in their own communities instead of traveling to faraway cancer centers.

In a letter to Pathway Genomics, the FDA has expressed interest in discussing the company's validation strategy as well as evaluating data on clinical sensitivity and specificity of the CancerIntercept Detect test.

The fourth annual meeting of Patient-Centered Oncology Care, set for November 19-20, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland, will feature a premiere multi-stakeholder lineup where leading payers, providers, and leaders from pharma will discuss how to deliver value-based care as cost of breakthrough therapies continues to climb. Julie Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, the president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, will give the keynote address.

A study published in The Journal of Urology suggests the Grade D recommendation for PSA-based screening may place those with intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer at risk.

Julie Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and keynote speaker at Patient-Centered Oncology Care 2015, explains the importance of the meeting and how patients benefit when a diverse set of stakeholders come together in one room.

A JAMA Internal Medicine study found the terms "breakthrough" and "promising" raised people's expectations on the drug's performance as opposed to when the drugs were described as having met the breakthrough criteria.

Hillary Clinton unveiled a plan in Iowa that features a $250 per month cap on drug costs for patients with chronic conditions. This comes 2 weeks after her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, introduced a bill aimed at reining in drug costs. In the summer, The American Journal of Managed Care said polling showed that rising drug costs were poised to become a major issue in the 2016 campaign.

A white paper released by QuantiaMD has identified a lack of awareness and education about biosimilars among prescribing physicians.

Lonsurf (TAS-102) is an oral 2-drug combination pill that is intended for metastatic colorectal cancer patients who have failed on chemotherapy and biological therapy.

AstraZeneca hopes to harness the open source platform of the DREAM challenge, releasing preclinical data to discover synergistic cancer drug combinations.

Among other challenges faced by cancer care centers, reimbursement for providing patient-centered care services remains at the top, a survey by The Association of Community Cancer Centers found.

A report in The New York Times identifies challenges that could be raised based on Califf's past associations with the drug industry.

Rising costs in cancer care, especially for new therapies, have gained attention in recent years. However, a study just published in The American Journal of Managed Care finds about half of patients are interested in discussing cost on the front end, but only a minority actually have a cost discussion with their oncologist.

As the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) celebrates 20 years, Clifford Goodman, PhD, takes a look at how NCCN will evolve after another 20 years, including constant streaming of real-time data and more patient involvement.

The top stories in managed care include the nomination for the next FDA commissioner, a report reveals cancer drugs are driving growth in the 340B program more than initially thought, and nearly half a billion in ACA funds are made available to health centers.

A collaborative team of researchers have been able to identify a gene signature that can predict how HER2-negative breast cancer patients would respond to treatment with bevacizumab.

The path to President Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative has been paved as is evident from a report released by a Working Group convened by the National Institutes of Health.