Oncology

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) was a great program that led to practice transformation and improved patient care, but there needs to be a way to address the high cost of cancer therapies, said Marcus Neubauer, MD, chief medical officer of the US Oncology Network.

Anemia, fevers, dehydration, and other side effects from cancer treatment are all candidates for targeting with predictive analytics in an effort to care for patients are home instead of the hospital, said Elizabeth Kwo, MD, MBA, MPH, the deputy chief clinical officer at Anthem BCBS, and a speaker at the 10th anniversary of Patient-Centered Oncology Care® conference.

Increasing knowledge of mutations and signaling proteins in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) offer prognostic and therapeutic advantages, according to a review of recent findings.

Sanofi and Regeneron had previously announced an overall survival advantage of 29% over chemotherapy alone; the combination also had a progression-free survival benefit of 46%.

The prespecified analysis of DESTINY-Breast03 opened a Presidential Symposium September 18, during the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2021 Virtual Congress, with the study’s lead author predicting a new standard of care and a commentator calling the results “startling.”

Psychological and emotional needs specific to populations with cancer are often overlooked in clinical research, including those of adolescents, young adults, immigrants, and people of lower socioeconomic status.

Gary Lyman, MD, MPH, an oncologist and hematologist, discusses how doctors are managing patients who present with later-stage cancers as a result of barriers to screening measures imposed by the pandemic.

For patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), PET/CT scans conducted in the first cycle of salvage therapy can predict for response, according to a study.

A review of treatment options in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) addresses common subtypes and patient response to standard of care.

A new report could eventually help investigators better understand which patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are most likely to respond to certain therapies.

Risk of isolated central nervous system (CNS) involvement was found to be significantly lower in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who received high-dose methotrexate vs RCHOP chemotherapy, although risk of concomitant CNS-systemic relapse rates were similar between both groups.

Due to the lack of head-to-head trials comparing chemoimmunotherapy regimens with chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, researchers conducted a network meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials of patients with the cancer.

On World Lung Cancer Day, we explore current guidelines for lung cancer screening in the United States, implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and disparities in mortality and access to care by race and socioeconomic status.

Long-term survival trends among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with the cancer types with the highest mortality highlight areas where additional research is needed.

Speakers at the Advanced Topics for Oncology Pharmacy Professionals Summit discussed financial toxicity in health care, how it particularly impacts patients with cancer, and how to address the issue with patients and the health system.

Due to unprecedented disruption and missed screenings during the pandemic, efforts to implement a 5-year performance period under the Radiation Oncology Model were extended twice.

The characteristics of the tumor and the presence of surgical fatigue can help determine patients’ candidacy for skin cancer surgery, explained Todd Schlesinger, MD, FAAD, director, Dermatology and Laser Center of Charleston and Clinical Research Center of the Carolinas.

The new standards come as community oncology practices await word on the future of the oncology care model, which will expire in 2022.

New data underscore how obesity, racial disparities and recent treatment advancements have impacted cancer mortality and incidence rates.

Originally set to expire on June 30, 2021, the Oncology Care Model was extended for an additional year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Both sets of data were unveiled at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which was held earlier this month in a virtual format.

Three recent conferences yielded new data on which treatment therapies are providing substantial benefits to patients and which ones are demonstrating more lackluster results.