Model to Predict Disease Complexity and Costs Associated With AHCT in Acute Leukemia
January 23rd 2017Disease status, MUD/MRD donor, myeloablative conditioning regimen, GVHD prophylaxis other than tacrolimus/sirolimus, and Medicare and/or Medicaid as payer are significant predictors for cost of care in patient with acute leukemia who undergo allogenic hematopoietic cell transplant (AHCT).
American Society of Hematology's Tenets for Hematologists to Choose Wisely
January 23rd 2017Initiated by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Choosing Wisely® is a campaign that has seen participation by a number of different national medical organizations to promote conversations between clinicians and patients to ensure adequate, evidence-based care.
ASH "Choosing Wisely Champions" Share Their Practice-Changing Success
January 20th 2017At the 2016 annual meeting, the American Society of Hematology introduced the “Choosing Wisely Champions” to recognize the efforts of practitioners who are working to eliminate costly and potentially harmful overuse of tests and procedures.
Incorporating Nurse Specialists Into Hematology Care: Improved QOL for Patient and Provider
January 20th 2017During the ASH Practice Partnership lunch, Joseph Alvarnas, MD, from the City of Hope, and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Oncologyâ„¢ moderated a panel discussion on the impact of including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists into hematology care.
ASH Symposium on Quality Addresses Health IT Challenges for the Provider and the Patient
January 20th 2017The Special Symposium on Quality looked at how health information technology (IT) can be utilized to improve healthcare quality, enhance patient—provider shared decision making, and facilitate efforts in quality research.
Precision Genomic Panels a Vital Clinical Support Tool in Pediatric Brain Tumors
January 20th 2017A collaborative study has concluded that genomic assays can be successfully used to identify diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment-relevant alterations and can help guide precision treatment decisions for pediatric brain tumors.
The FDA Grapples With the Economics of Drug Development
January 19th 2017The FDA is giving serious consideration to the economics of the drug or device development process, and to that effect, has released a draft guidance for manufacturers on how and what to communicate with payers and formulary committees.
Getting Insured Could Reduce Cancer-Related Deaths Among Minorities
January 18th 2017A new report released by the American Cancer Society indicates that while the cancer-related death rate was higher among blacks than in whites in 2014, the racial gap could reduce as minority patients increasingly gain access to insurance and subsequent healthcare.
RESONATE-2 Continues to Impress With Single-Agent Ibrutinib for CLL/SLL at 29 Months
January 18th 2017Despite the complexities associated with treating older patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), patients in the RESONATE-2 trial continue to present a favorable response to single-agent ibrutinib at a follow-up of 29 months.
MYSTIC Trial, Evaluating Durvalumab as First-Line in NSCLC, Adds OS Endpoint
January 17th 2017The trial, evaluating the programmed death ligand-1 inhibitor durvalumab, alone or in combination with tremelimumab, versus platinum-based chemotherapy, has refined its endpoints to include overall survival (OS) along with progression-free survival.
Cytokine Biomarkers Can Predict Response to CAR T-Cell Treatment in CLL
January 16th 2017At the 58th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition, Jan Joseph Melenhorst, PhD, presented results of a study evaluating biomarkers of response to anti-CD19 CAR T-cell treatment in patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Phase 3 LyMa Trial: Rituximab After ASCT Increases OS in Mantle Cell Lymphoma
January 16th 2017Phase 3 results from the LyMa trial have shown that rituximab, after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), prolongs event-free survival, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS) in previously untreated young patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) following ASCT.
Patient and Provider Education on Pain in Cancer: A Cost-Saving Intervention
January 16th 2017An experiment by Park Nicollet Health Services to document personalized pain management goals for patients in oncology clinics lowered documented pain, while physician education on cost information helped reduce treatment costs.
Trump Administration Can Use ASCO's Principles to Ensure Healthcare Remains Patient-Centered
January 13th 2017The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) hopes that the principles will help ensure access to healthcare and adequate insurance, to improve outcomes among those diagnosed with cancer.
NCI Formulary a Big Support for Cancer Moonshot
January 11th 2017Described as a public—private partnership between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the NCI Formulary is expected to provide researchers rapid access to anticancer drugs for use in clinical trials.
Delayed Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Surgically Resected Patients With NSCLC
January 9th 2017Delayed adjuvant chemotherapy, started up to 4 months following resection of non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) could still be beneficial to patients, according to a new study published in JAMA Oncology.