Oncology

What we're reading, March 1, 2016: physicians greet Merck's new hepatitis C drug with caution; 20% of Puerto Ricans could be infected with the Zika virus in 2016; and nearly $3 billion wasted in cancer medicines.

The event saw participation by patient advocacy groups, health economists, health policy researchers, and patient advocacy groups-the primary interest of the participants was to identify the healthcare-associated economic hardships faced by patients and their caregivers across therapeutic areas and discuss potential solutions that could help alleviate some of this burden.

Research led by investigators at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center has concluded that adjuvant chemotherapy improved survival compared with patients who received adjuvant chemoradiation in pancreatic cancer.

The top stories in managed care this week include findings on cancer survival disparities, CVS Health claimed drug spending growth slowed in 2015, and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's OMNIA plan is interfering with existing patient-centered medical homes.

A new proposal from researchers at MIT and Dana-Farber offers a remedy for patients to cover high healthcare costs: securitized consumer healthcare loans.

A new study questions the maximum-tolerated-dose approach in cancer.

There are multiple barriers to accessing innovative oncology care from the design of healthcare benefits to a patient’s position on the federal poverty level, explained Daniel J. Klein, president and CEO of the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation.

Emergency room overutilization is a significant issue in oncology care and may increase healthcare expenditures while lowering the quality of patient care.

A collaborative study conducted across cancer treatment centers in the United States has identified malignant brain tumors as the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 39 years.

What we're reading: drug makers are not reporting complete information about side effects; Johnson & Johnson will pay $72 million to the family of a woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on talcum powder; and Maine and Utah make new attempts at expanding Medicaid.

Experts and biological researchers aren’t completely convinced with the president's cancer moonshot initiative and the released budget.

Survival in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia could be significantly influenced by their family’s socioeconomic status, a new study published in Pediatric Blood and Cancer has found.

Ted Okon, MBA, of the Community Oncology Alliance, will participate in a tweetchat with The American Journal of Managed Care on February 29, 1-2 pm ET, to discuss the 340B program, payment reform, the Oncology Medical Home, and more.

BMJ's study found no link bewteen incretin-based drugs and pancreatic cancer but said because of the latency of the cancer, adverse effects would have to be watched.

A new report by the American Cancer Society points to disparities in cancer survival between whites and blacks for certain cancers, although the reasons for these differences remain unconfirmed.

The online tool includes worksheets for the most commonly used cancer treatment protocols that care providers can directly access through the electronic health record.

The supplemental new drug application submitted by Pfizer, the drug's manufacturer, included phase 3 results from the PALOMA-3 trial.

What we're reading, February 22, 2016: new legislation proposes placing a 3-year moratorium on advertising newly approved drugs; the prevalence and incidence of stroke among young adults has increased significantly; and more women with breast cancer are choosing outpatient mastectomies.

Support from at least 60 senators during today's procedural vote will ensure a final confirmation vote for Robert Califf, MD, likely Tuesday.

This week's top managed care stories included the release of 7 core sets of quality measures, more evidence that value-based insurance design works to lower costs, and the FDA assigns breakthrough designation to AstraZeneca's PD-L1 inhibitor.

Two studies presented at the ongoing 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium report on financial hurdles faced by patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer that result in lifestyle modifications, advanced disease, and worse outcomes.

A new study, published in Nature Communications, has delineated a mechanism that could help explain the resistance that is emerging with the new immuno-oncology agents such as PD-1 and PD-L1.

A Task Force composed of gastroenterology specialists, with a special interest in colorectal cancer, has released updated recommendations urging post-operative colonoscopy instead of endoscopy to improve survival.

Durvalumab is being developed for the treatment of PD-L1—positive patients with inoperable or metastatic urothelial bladder cancer

Evidence-Based Oncology, the multistakeholder publication of The American Journal of Managed Care devoted to cancer care, revisits the rapidly evolving field of immuno-oncology in its current issue. While one author calls the clinical impact of “tsunami proportions,” the healthcare system is grappling with how to pay for these therapies.