Oncology

The trial successfully improved progression-free survival and also tested a BRCA diagnostic test in patients with ovarian cancer.

Carevive recognizes the importance of including patient-reported outcomes into the care planning process, so they have developed surveys that will provide patients with the resources to address those concerns, according to Carrie Stricker, PhD, RN, AOCN, chief clinical officer and co-founder of Carevive.

An e-mail, from Mark Merritt, president and CEO of the trade group Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, to the organization’s board, lays out a plan to develop an aggressive campaign to convince the new administration that the fault rests with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This week, the top managed care stories included the end of 2 insurance megamergers, a proposed rule to tighten restrictions for the Affordable Care Act, and new legislation in New Jersey provides the nation's strictest mandates for treating addiction.

Surrogate endpoints could eventually add to or replace clinical endpoints in determining a cancer treatment’s effectiveness, according to Pam Mangat, MS, associate director TAPUR study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She also said that a deeper understanding of a patient’s genetic makeup and tumor biology in conjunction with new technologies will drive improvements in oncology care.

The shift to value-based care, concurrent with innovations in immune-based care, will create challenges in oncology. What should be the physician and manufacturer responsibility during these changing times?

Patients, caregivers, and providers need education on immunotherapy treatment, support in patient-provider communications as well as support in mitigating the financial impact of immunotherapy treatment.

Observational findings from the Women’s Health Initiative study found that an intentional weight loss regimen by postmenopausal obese women can slash their risk of endometrial cancer by 29% to 56%.

Through the use of workshops and other productions, the Texas Business Group on Health educates employers on how they can maximize value through oncology care innovations like precision medicine, according to Marianne Fazen, PhD, president and CEO of the Texas Business Group on Health.

A new study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network dives deeper into understanding the major roadblocks to coverage of hereditary cancer panels.

A study of breast cancer survivors’ cognitive performance before and after chemotherapy sheds light on the problem of cancer-related cognitive impairment.

Community oncologists will be at the forefront of using immunotherapies and will need to be strong advocates for greater information and affordability of therapies.

Immunotherapy treatments are not without side effects. What do patients and their families need to know so they are more aware?

Employers are generally not very familiar with the Oncology Care Model (OCM) yet, but support will grow as they see that the key goals of the OCM overlap with their own concerns, predicted Karen van Caulil, PhD, president and CEO of the Florida Health Care Coalition.

An update on immunotherapies and the potential impact of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells on oncology care.

A new study to be presented at the 2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium has found that some patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma had a durable response after treatment discontinuation.

Patient navigation is immensely helpful in relieving some of the burden placed on cancer patients, and there are some particularly unique aspects of navigation as it pertains to immuno-oncology.

AJMCtv® interviews let you catch up with experts in healthcare. Topics include challenges with immuno-oncology, including the patient voice in treatment decisions, and why payers should cover genomic testing.

A program linking elderly cancer patients to lay navigators was shown to substantially reduce costs and decrease hospitalizations, making it an appealing tool for providing value-based oncology care.

A new study has identified key mutations that can direct the conditioning regimen prior to an allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), leading to a better response.

Immuno-oncology is often portrayed as having less severe side effects than chemotherapy, but patients need to be aware that it does carry some risks, said Debra L. Madden, cancer research advocate and patient representative. Patients should not hesitate to report any adverse effects to their doctor.

MD Anderson Cancer Center, which first established its oncology-focused ECHO program in 2014 has now adopted a much bigger role, of a “superhub.”

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories included final enrollment numbers for the Affordable Care Act for 2017, a report that revealed low rates of lung cancer screening, and a study found that a population-based weight management strategies can prevent diabetes.

Does an FDA approval guarantee clinical benefit of a drug? How does it influence drug price?