- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Editorial: Can Gene Signatures Tell Us All?
The writer asks: is more information better, even if we don't understand what it means?
On August 6, researchers announced in The New England Journal of Medicine that they had found that mutations in a gene called PALB2 greatly increase the risk of breast cancer. This is one of the biggest developments since the discovery in the ’90s of the role of mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in breast and ovarian cancer.
The response among patients has been predictable. One woman’s email to me summed it up: “I’d like to get an entire genome scan to rule out a hidden cancer diagnosis.”
Genetic testing has revolutionized how we think about cancer, allowing us to make some decent predictions about who might get certain cancers and who might benefit from preventive treatments. Many know the story of Angelina Jolie, who used her family history to learn she had a BRCA1 mutation. She chose to have a double mastectomy instead of waiting to see if she developed cancer. We may not envy this choice, but we do appreciate the power that comes with taking evidence-based action against a deadly disease. Many of us want that power for ourselves.
Link to the editorial: http://nyti.ms/1w20tnX
Source: The New York Times
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Penn Medicine's Dr Justin Bekelman
December 19th 2023Justin Bekelman, MD, director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation, sat with our hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for our final episode of 2023 to discuss the importance of collaboration between academic medicine and community oncology and testing innovative cancer care delivery in these settings.
Listen
Trastuzumab Deruxtecan Receives FDA Approval for HER2-Positive Solid Tumors
April 5th 2024FDA granted accelerated approval to trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive solid tumors who received prior systemic treatment and have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.
Read More
