Oncology

The findings on tumor mutational burden (TMB) may fill a gap in biomarkers for patients who have non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Susan Sabo-Wagner MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas, explained how cultural competency allows for better care delivery to patients with cancer.

A recent study found potential significance in PD-L1 analysis results for predicting immune treatment response in patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma.

A tool to measure chemotherapy toxicity from the Cancer and Aging Research Group can help determine emergency department visits or hospitalization risk, especially for elderly patients, says Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

Moving screening and prevention care more upstream can help make an impact by getting patients diagnosed with cancer earlier, said Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas.

Paul Thurmes, MD, medical oncologist and hematologist, Minnesota Oncology, spoke on key responsibilities and approaches that are often lacking in cancer care.

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, vice president of government affairs at City of Hope and chief clinical adviser of AccessHope in Duarte, California, spoke on how the California Cancer Care Equity Act will allow oncologists to escalate the care of patients with advanced cancers toward established centers that can better meet their needs, as well as implications from the decision to exclude genomic testing coverage in the bill.

Coverage from the New York City presentation of the Institute for Value-Based Medicine, co-chaired by Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and Robert Daly, MD, MBA, medical oncologist and lung cancer specialist at MSKCC.

Featured coverage from the 70th Annual Roy A. Bowers Pharmaceutical Conference, held September 19, 2022. The theme for the 2022 conference was Innovation Through Crisis: Redefining Health Care Delivery.

Implications of Telehealth Use on the Future of Oncology Care

The concluding keynote address at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2022 meeting discussed new and emerging oncology drugs in the pipeline and their potential impact on the treatment landscape as it pertains to managed care providers.

The sessions align with the yearlong theme selected by this year’s ACCC president, David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, when he took the helm in March: “Leveraging Technology to Transform Cancer Care Delivery and the Patient Experience.”

Despite the potential incentives for medical oncologists to reduce radiation therapy utilization under the Oncology Care Model, we find no evidence that such reduction occurred.

With multiple pathways and stakeholders involved, there needs to be an arbiter who decides what is the highest quality and highest value care in oncology, said Lucy Langer, MD, MSHS, national medical director, oncology and genomics, UnitedHealthcare.

The targeted therapy, to be sold by Taiho Oncology as Lytgobi, had previously received breakthrough status in 2021 and was accepted for priority review in March.

HHS declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Fiona; nearly 1 in 10 Americans suffered from depression in 2020, and a task force recommended doctors screen all adults aged younger than 65 for anxiety; advances in cancer research have led to reduced cancer death rates.

The rise of telehealth during COVID-19, its limitations, and its uncertain future.

Elaine Goodman, MD, MBA, clinical lead for population health management at Mass General Brigham, explains how patient access and engagement with health technologies, and the ways these technologies are developed, has evolved.

A team of investigators from across the United States investigated a potential connection between patients’ health insurance literacy and their reported financial hardship.

Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP, assistant professor, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, presented long-term results from an experiment with an algorithm designed to prompt oncologists to have serious illness conversations.

Previously, patients with low expression of HER2 were categorized as HER2-negative but adding the HER2-low classification creates new opportunities for patients with advanced breast cancer, explained Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology.

Benjamin Robbins, MD, MBA, venture partner at GV, explains how the venture capital firm decides to invest in health care companies.

A survey was conducted to determine opportunities to aid primary care providers and patients in the difficult journey of an oncology patient.

Frist Cressey Ventures' main mission is to learn how it can partner with entrepreneurs to improve health care, said Chris Booker, partner with Frist Cressey Ventures.

At a panel for the National Health Alliance, 3 experts talked about incorporating patient needs and requests in cancer care.

Although the Oncology Care Model (OCM) is ending June 30, 2022, it does not mean practices can turn back the clock and revert to how they provided care prior to the OCM, explained Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology.

Why "tech-enabled" solutions make sense and how the Music City became the a health care hub.