Oncology

A one-minute look at managed care news during the week of February 9, 2015, including an announcement of a new Affordable Care Initiative and a potential change to recommended dietary guidelines.

A new study debunks the common assumption that high medical costs are a result of patients demanding more tests and treatments. Researchers analyzed more than 5000 patient-clinician visits and found that cancer patients rarely push for medical interventions.

The NEJM study, although specific for blood disorders, could be extrapolated to other tumor types as well, to develop personalized treatment regimens, the authors suggest.

A new Affordable Care Act initiative from HHS will better coordinate cancer care with the intention of improving the quality of care provided and reducing the money spent on healthcare, according to an announcement from HHS.

As community oncology clinics affiliate with hospital systems to become hospital outpatient departments, patients begin to feel the burden of higher costs of care, according to Debra Patt, MD, from Texas Oncology, a community-based practice.

Although the marketplace has managed to come to a temporary solution for the high cost of hepatitis C drugs, Steven Miller, MD, MBA, expects to see more examples of similar high-cost drugs in other categories.

A new approach to caring for patients undergoing colorectal surgery has shown faster recovery times, fewer complications, improved patient satisfaction, and reduced medical costs, according to a team of researchers.

Following reports last week of a bid, it has now been confirmed that the Canadian company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc will buy Provenge-maker Dendreon.

The results published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology found that the response rate to tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy was significantly higher in classic vs rare EGFR mutations.

The concept of pathways is the most widely adopted solution to reduce the high cost of cancer care, according to Bruce Feinberg, DO, vice president and chief medical officer of oncology at Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions.

For patients with lung or colorectal cancer, bevacizumab treatment patterns and healthcare costs varied by the setting of treatment initiation (physician office vs hospital outpatient).

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have discovered inherited genetic variations associated with rapid hearing loss in young cancer patients treated with the drug cisplatin, as published in Nature Genetics.

Interim analysis during a phase 3 study of Ixazomib in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma found that the drug improved the primary endpoint of progression-free survival.

The drug has been approved for treatment-naive patients who are ineligible for transplant.

The 3D breast imaging system, developed at the University of Rochester, is currently approved for diagnosing cancer in women who have signs or symptoms of the disease, or who have abnormal findings after a standard screening mammogram.

Following an announcement that Medicare would cover preventive low dose computes tomography for lung cancer screening, CMS released a final national coverage determination today that includes details on eligibility criteria.

A study published in the journal Lancet Oncology, conducted by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, provides evidence for the value of introducing abiraterone prior to chemotherapy in these patients.

The industry-academic partnership is expected to boost clinical trials on investigational drugs and outcomes research, in gynecological cancers.

With several of it's blockbusters going off-patent soon, Pfizer is looking at new avenues for expanding it's revenue.

After nearly 6 years overseeing public health initiatives, Margaret Hamburg, MD, commissioner of the FDA will be stepping down, according to various sources.

A comprehensive study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that colorectal cancer survivors who smoke cigarettes were at more than twice the risk of death than non-smoking survivors.

Although African Americans have had lower colon cancer survival rates over the past 2 decades compared with white patients, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found evidence-based care can remove the racial disparity.

In his blog post on FDAVoice, Peter Lurie MD, MPH, associate FDA commissioner for public health strategy and analysis, announced the introduction of a draft form and a draft guideline that can be used by a physician to request access to an experimental drug or biological product that is still under development.

The report, according to ASCO, delineates responsibilities of different stakeholders towards ensuring responsible data sharing of trial results.

The efficacy of the CDK4/6 inhibitor was demonstrated in 165 postmenopausal women with ER-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who had not received previous treatment for advanced disease.