Oncology

"The Oncology Drug Marketplace: Trends in Discounting and Site of Care," commissioned by the Community Onoclogy Alliance and conducted by Berkley Research Group, found that 340B hospitals have a clear financial incentive to expand oncology services; 340B hospitals receive over one-third of all Part B oncology drug reimbursement; a disproportionate share of the shift in site of care is attributable to 340B hospitals; and between 2010 and 2015, statutory discounts and rebates paid by manufacturers have almost tripled and put upward pricing pressure on drugs.

The majority of women who underwent a lumpectomy or a mastectomy reported not feeling fully informed of their treatment options, but the use of Web-based decision aids can help patients become informed, according to results of 2 new studies published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Discussions at the 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) included progress reports on genetically modified immunotherapy treatments, a new treatment paradigm for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma, possibility of treatment-free remission in chronic myelogenous leukemia, and challenges with hospice utilization for patients with leukemia.

The conclusion drawn by panelists participating at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Oncology Policy Summit on Redefining Quality Measurement in Oncology was that ensuring access to appropriate data and using that information to improve healthcare outcomes remains an ongoing challenge.

Speaking at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Oncology Policy Summit on Redefining Quality Measurement in Oncology, Ronald Walters, MD, MBA, MHA, MS, associate vice president of medical operations and informatics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, emphasized the need to focus on the patient’s preferences and values in cancer care delivery.

An analysis of behaviors, community environment, policy, clinical care, and outcomes data has found a disturbing trend in mortality in the United States, with premature deaths, drug deaths, and cardiovascular deaths all increasing.

The FDA has recognized the need to include the patient's voice in the drug development process. The question is: what is the best way to do this?

The FDA has announced its launch of the “Every Try Counts” campaign, which will encourage smokers to quit by advertising messages of support underscoring the health benefits of quitting. The campaign will also focus on celebrating each quit attempt as a step towards success.

There is no shortage of academic, industry, and government sources that identify value as equaling cost/outcomes; there is far less uniformity of opinion when it comes to defining what that means for a particular patient affected by cancer.

New companies are finding patients for clinical trials in remote locations and trimming months off the enrollment process.

Including the modified brentuximab antibody in the treatment regimen improved modified progression-free survival by 5%, although the rates of neutropenia and infections were higher in patients administered the brentuximab-containing regimen.

The need for physicicans to gather information for electronic health records has changed the nature of the patient visit.

A much-anticipated session on the second day of the 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology provided long-term updates on trials evaluating 2 chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR T) treatments: tisagenlecleucel or CTL019 (Kymriah) for the treatment of adult relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) evaluated in patients with refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Findings from 3 analyses published in CANCER highlight racial disparities in the survival of patients with ovarian, colon, and breast cancer from 2001-2003 and 2004-2009.

Clonal hematopoiesis and selection pressures associated with aging can together lead to the development of neoplasms. Two hematologists presented US and European updates on the potential to develop a predictive model, and an appropriate intervention, in these individuals.

Two abstracts at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, Georgia found that CTL019 shows promising potential in providing significant benefit and cost effectiveness for pediatric and young adult patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Ibrutinib has the potential to improve vaccine response for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and an ongoing trial will help provide a better understanding, explained Kerry Rogers, MD, assistant professor, internal medicine, Division of Hematology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Three studies presented at the ongoing 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, Georgia, shared progress on the oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor, ibrutinib, in the treatment of relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and as a single agent in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

During a session on the first day of the 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, Georgia, physicians shared current knowledge on cardiovascular toxicities of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as well as the potential for treatment-free remission with these agents.

A University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center research team studying new drugs that could break resistance to cancer immunotherapy has received a 3-year, $600,000 translational grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

This week, the top managed care stories included CVS' proposal to purchase Aetna, which could reshape healthcare; a new study that looks at who is dying in hospitals from opioid use; and CMS reported that healthcare spending grew more slowly in 2016.

Novartis announced that Phase III MONALEESA-7 trial results showed that the combination of ribociclib with an endocrine therapy (tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor) and goserelin yielded significant progression-free survival when compared with endocrine therapy and goserelin alone.

WIth different societies and organizations releasing contrary guidelines around breast cancer screening, experience with past patients or friends and family members could influence physicians' decisions around when to start screening mammography.

A Samfund grant recipient narrates her experience of being diagnosed young with cancer and how the support from The Samfund "made everyday school and life manageable."

A new study published Monday by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) in Boston reports findings on a gene that is responsible for creating a protein that may help melanoma to grow and metastasize.