Oncology

This week's top managed care stories include a lawsuit between Anthem and Express Scripts, trouble with Medicare's bidding program for diabetes test strips, and the cost of reporting quality measurements.

In a survey conducted by a sales and marketing firm, oncologists, oncology nurses, and oncology administrators have expressed displeasure with the customer experience rendered by oncology manufacturers.

A retrospective research study has identified disparity in the use of the test, primarily driven by race, insurance status, and the type of facility where treatment was administered.

A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that boys who underwent chemotherapy to treat their cancer were less likely to father children.

With an increasing population of head and neck cancer survivors in the United States, the American Cancer Society identified the need to develop survivorship guidelines that can lend support to primary care clinicians and other health practitioners as they care for survivors.

Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is a common adverse effect in children with cancer, yet there are less serious causes of febrile neutropenia for which extended in-hospital treatment might be unnecessary.

"Our analysis suggests that annual screens may not be warranted for patients who have had an initial negative scan, and future risk prediction and cost-effectiveness models could incorporate these data to improve screening guidelines," said the study's lead author.

Growing numbers of women with breast cancer in one breast are choosing to have preventive double mastectomies despite there being little evidence that the surgery actually improves quality of life for those women.

Analysis of data on nearly 27,000 patients with rectal cancer found distance from site of radiation therapy, along with a few other factors, could significantly impact the possibility of the patient receiving treatment.

The program will air nearly 3 years after Jolie stunned the country with news that she'd had surgery to remove both breasts after a genetic test revealed she was at very high risk for cancer.

Based on the review of additional data submitted by Janssen, an appraisal committee from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has finalized a guidance that recommends abiraterone for use in some prostate cancer patients prior to chemotherapy.

In states that have not expanded Medicaid, uninsured low-income women face more difficulties in accessing recommended screenings for breast and cervical cancer.

Twitter may have the potential to promote trial recruitment for cancer clinical trials by promoting interest and boosting enrollment in the trials.

This case study from the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA) focuses on a new dispensary in a moderately sized oncology community practice that prescribes to NCODA’s Quality Standards and outlines the processes developed to assist Medicare patients in accessing their oral cancer medications.

The 42nd annual meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers ensured that none of the oncology care providers in the audience left without realizing that healthcare has slowly been migrating to include value in care delivery and reimbursement decisions.

Joseph Alvar­nas, MD, direc­tor of value-based analytics at City of Hope, Duarte, California, and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Oncology painted an upbeat picture of cancer cure rates at the 2015 meeting of Patient-Centered Oncology Care.

A new study in Australia adds to the evolving knowledge on adverse cutaneous effects of pembrolizumab and nivolumab. Could they also indicate better prognosis?

What we're reading, March 17, 2016: doctors who receive more industry money prescribe more brand name drugs; researchers project risk of Zika virus transmission in the US; and use of generic Gleevec could save $100,000 per patient.

Recent analysis supports the potential importance of using biosimiliars of granulocyte colony stimulating factor to manage neutropenia affecting post-chemotherapy and post-op patients.

Dermatologists have conducted a research study that proves "smartphone microscopes" can improve the detection of skin cancer in remote areas and in developing nations, where specialists are not as easily accessible to patients.

FDA has granted a Priority Review designation for the breakthrough programmed death ligand-1 inhibitor atezolizumab, for the treatment of bladder cancer.

Updated guidelines on the use of colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) in people with cancer address the strengths and limitations of the use of CSFs, which reduce the risk of neutropenia.

Idelalisib has presented serious adverse events in combination trials in both the US and Europe.

At the end of February, Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), answered questions on Twitter about the latest trends in cancer care and discussed COA’s concerns with the president’s moonshot initiative and the 340B drug pricing program.

A new report published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology has drawn a mixed picture of oncology care in the United States-reduced mortality, increased survivors, and progress in treatment coupled with unsustainable costs and an unstable clinical setting.