Article
The Top 5 Most-Read Evidence-Based Oncology™ Stories of 2020
Author(s):
The top 5 most-read news stories for Evidence-Based Oncology™ (EBO), a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®, ranged from drug approvals to policy challenges and targeted therapies.
The top 5 most-read stories from Evidence-Based Oncology™ (EBO), a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®, ranged from drug approvals to policy challenges and targeted therapies in cancer. The August issue was a hot spot, with 4 of the 5 top stories appearing there. Here are the articles that got our readers’ attention this year.
5. Hospitals Vow to Fight Court of Appeals 340B Ruling
An article in the August issue of EBO chronicled rulings on reimbursements for certain medications administered in outpatient clinics enrolled in the 340B program, which is a drug discount program created to support hospitals serving Medicaid patients. A district court ruling determined that HHS, through CMS, exceeded its authority in imposing a 28.5% rate cut for a category of outpatient drugs used in 340B hospitals. A 3-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed that ruling, and hospitals have vowed to fight it.
4. How DNA Medicines Could Transform Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme
The potential of DNA medicines was the topic of interest in a story from the August issue of EBO. They have failed to gain therapeutic ground in the treatment of human disease over the years, wrote Jeffrey Skolnick, MD, but a recent resurgence of DNA medicines largely due to improvements in technology is promising in the treatment of glioblastoma, or grade IV astrocytoma, which remains a typically incurable and devastating disease.
3. Overall US Cancer Mortality Rate Reaches 26-Year Decline, but Obesity-Related Cancer Deaths Rise
A story published in January reported on a significant decline in overall cancer death rates over time, but a rise in obesity-related cancer deaths and a plateau in prostate cancer deaths. The overall cancer mortality rate dropped by 29% from 1991 to 2017, at an average of 1.5% each year in the last decade, with data available through 2017. But there were also increases in death rates in specific cancers—such as thyroid, pancreas, and uterus—that were linked to obesity, stressing the public health crisis caused by the obesity epidemic.
2. Second-Generation BTK Inhibitors Hit the Treatment Bullseye With Fewer Off-Target Effects
Another story that appeared in the August issue of EBO examined second-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, targeted drugs that are now well established as treatment for several blood cancers. Ibrutinib, a first-generation BTK inhibitor, has many benefits and indications but a notorious toxicity profile. Second-generation BTK inhibitors aim to reduce side effects such as cardiotoxicity and produce fewer treatment-halting adverse events.
1. Tafasitamab Combination Approved for Adults With R/R DLBCL
A July 31 FDA approval took the top spot in EBO readership this year. Tafasitamab-cxix was approved for use in combination with lenalidomide for second-line treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The approval, which was based on phase 2 results for 80 patients in the L-MIND trial, meets the needs of patients not eligible for an autologous stem cell transplant.
