Oncology

Yesterday's government report that healthcare spending will start rising faster after a decade of historically slow growth raises questions: Will rising numbers of insured people drive the spending? Or are healthcare costs going up on their own? The answer is likely some of each, based on a look at trends within yesterday's report and a just-released study of spending by commercial health plans, published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

Following a breakthrough therapy designation, pembrolizumab was included in FDA's accelerated approval program to allow early patient access.

While Sovaldi is still fresh on the mind, Ono Pharmaceutical's Opdivo (nivolumab), marketed jointly with BMS in Japan, has analysts projecting what the treatment might cost in the US.

Survival at 10 years was no better when women had double mastectomies.

The guidelines suggest various treatment options available, following consideration of the patient's status and preference.

The program is being developed to treat metastatic prostate cancer.

Dr Peter P. Yu, MD, Emphasized the importance of value when considering the implications of cancer care.

CVS accelerated its timeline from October to September to stop selling tobacco and related products in its retail stores.

The company developing the drug, Excelis, now plans to focus it's attention on the ongoing kidney and liver cancer trials for the drug.

Concerns about addiction and abuse may prevent patients from informing their oncologist about their level of pain.

Status in the States, the series in The American Journal of Managed Care's news publication, Evidence-Based Oncology, took a look at cancer care in New Jersey two years after a high-profile reorganization of the state's higher education system. The overhaul has improved collaboration within research units and with nearby pharmaceutical giants, and a new medical school reports a bumper crop of applicants.

The tool is aimed to provide decision-support to both patients and physicians while considering their reimbursement information.

While the 40% funding boost will help patients continue current expensive treatment, or improve access for others, determining "value for money" is high on the NHS agenda.

The phase 2 study combined lenalidomide with R-CHOP in newly diagnosed patients.

This week's news that Aetna would be repaid $8.4 million after uncovering a questionable relationship between three clinics and a hospital has its roots in a well-known managed care reality: If you're treated in a hospital setting, it costs more.

Evidence-Based Oncology, a news publication of The American Journal of Managed Care, this week published coverage from the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The regular issue of Evidence-Based Oncology, published with the ASCO special issue, features a statement on ASCO's value initiative from Chief Medical Officer Richard L. Schilsky, MD.

The research, being conducted at UC Berkley, is being funded by the Cures Acceleration Network, which is one of dozens of state and federal agencies established by the health law.

Improved cognitive computing by the supercomputer has accelerated the pace of scientific breakthroughs by discovering previously unknown connections in Big Data.

Sandoz, the companies generics unit, recently submitted an application with the US FDA for approval of it's biosimilar filgrastim; it's the first-ever biosimilar application with the FDA.

The study, published in the journal Cancer, identified a direct correlation between Medicaid payout for office visits and cancer screening in several states.

Karen Lewis, MS, MM, CGC, medical policy administrator and genetic counselor at Priority Health, said that providers are engaging in genetic testing, but they are doing so in "an uninformed fashion."

Following the news that pembrolizumab may be approved earlier than expected, Pfizer and Merck have announced a partnership to evaluate the PD-1 inhibitor in combination with Pfizer's Xalkori.

The University of Colorado is trying to recruit patients on the internet for a trial to test ponatinib in a rare form of lung cancer.

Pembrolizumab was expected to be approved by October, but the turnaround might be much earlier.