Clinical

At the Patient-Centered Oncology Care 2015 meeting, held November 19-20, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland, keynote speaker Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology provided perspectives on the challenges faced by oncologists as the healthcare system transitions to define and incorporate value in the care delivered.

Eligibility for prescription coverage and family income significantly influenced women's decisions to continue hormonal therapy and prevent recurrence of breast cancer, the authors found.

A majority of life sciences companies are planning on acquisitions and are targeting companies with a personalized medicine focus.

This is the company's third biosimilar Biologics License Application in the United States.

A weight-loss cell phone app alone did not help overweight young adults sustain weight loss any better than a written handout did.

Although, data on predictive risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been limited until now, researchers from the United Kingdom recently developed a model for predicting exacerbation risk using data obtainable from primary care.

What we're reading, November 18, 2015: global drug spending is expected to grow 30% in 5 years; Robert M. Califf, MD, sits through mostly friendly senate confirmation hearing for FDA nomination; and moderate coffee consumption could reduce some risks of death.

The drug is estimated to cost close to $13,000 per month.

It is time to regulate laboratory-developed tests that cost Medicare $9.7 billion in the year 2012 alone.

What we're reading, November 17, 2015: misunderstanding of antibiotics has fueled the rise of drug-resistant superbugs; healthcare leaders overwhelmingly support government intervention to curb rising cost of drugs; and the FDA wants more regulation on laboratory-developed tests.

The drug was approved based on results of 2 open-label studies that showed reduction in tumor burden of patients who had previously received multiple lines of therapy.

When to screen and how to screen remain controversial issues in prostate cancer.

In a session at the Fall Managed Care Forum 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada, cardiology expert Harold Bays MD, FTOS, FACC, FACE, FNLA, emphasized the importance of greater adherence to evidence-based practice guidelines, and the relevance of treatment with omega-3 fatty acids in hypertriglyceridemia.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by nonspecific symptoms, which can lead to a delay in diagnosis. Without treatment, patients with PAH have a poor prognosis, but development and availability of PAH-specific therapies have improved the overall prognosis of the disease.

According to the CDC, while smoking rates are seeing a steady decline, rates for uninsured and adults on Medicaid are more than twice those for adults with private health insurance.

A study in The European Journal of Public Health finds conversation on preventive vaccination against HPV can motivate participation in preventive screening for cervical cancer.

Evaluating adverse events of medications plays a vital role in post-marketing surveillance of clinical research, but how effective are these results when it comes to influencing public response? A recent study indicates a concerning public response.

A retrospective study conducted at the Mayo Clinic found improved OS and PFS in ovarian cancer patients with a history of oral contraceptive use.

A forced closing of Health Republic Insurance of New York has left many in need of immediate coverage.

What we're reading, November 11, 2015: annual flu shots may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine; Democrats call for changes to the so-called Cadillac tax; and Millennium Health files for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A new study finds that off-label drug use is associated with higher rates of adverse drug events in adults.

The approval comes after a priority review of the combination that blocks activity of 2 MAPK proteins: BRAF and MEK.

Published in JAMA Oncology, the trial found an association between loss of heterozygosity and cancer-free survival in patients who had been diagnosed with oral premalignant lesions.

Oral contraception, the most widely used contraceptive method in the US, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular side effects. Despite increased awareness of this risk over the years, the use of oral contraceptives among women with conditions that place them at high risk for cardiovascular effects is still common.

Treatment of a recurrent brain tumor harboring a BRAF mutation with an inhibitor approved for melanoma resulted in dramatic tumor shrinkage.