Oncology

A multigene test for breast cancer recurrence risk was used in a minority of eligible patients, yet was associated with a decrease in chemotherapy use.

A new study warns that symptoms associated with rare CNS tumors could lead to a misdiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among pediatric patients.

The FDA has approved the combination of lenvatinib and everolimus for use in patients with renal cell carcinoma who have failed at least 1 anti-angiogenic treatment. The approval raises questions around the sequencing these agents when a patient fails on first-line care.

Rising costs in cancer care have fueled a national conversation on how to decide whether today’s new therapies are “worth it.” A supplement of Evidence-Based Oncology features interviews with those developing value frameworks and coverage of the Oncology Stakeholders Summit, which included patient advocacy, payers and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

There is much excitement over the new checkpoint inhibitors, which have shown benefit across a variety of tumors. Right now, researchers are trying to define the subgroup of patients with breast cancer who might be most suited to checkpoint inhibitors, explained Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, chief of Division of Hematology Oncology and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

According to a new report released by the American Cancer Society, prevention, early detection, and interventions have worked for controlling cancer-but only for those cancer types for which these tools are available.

Researchers in Germany have discovered that mitoxantrone-used to treat aggressive, relapsing, or progressive multiple sclerosis-can increase the risk of leukemia and colorectal cancer in those being treated.

The immunotherapy agent nivolumab was approved by the European Commission in combination with ipilimumab for the treatment of advanced melanoma, but rejected by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for use in patients with advanced lung cancer.

Cancer patients who receive a particular type of chemotherapy, called doxorubicin, run a risk of sustaining severe, lasting heart damage. But until now, there was no way of knowing who would experience this serious side effect.

A review of the various value calculators that have emerged to measure the value of cancer therapies—these calculators reflect the interests of their developers and vary substantially in their intention, format, and usability.

In a blogpost on Health Affairs, 2 economists have challenged the claim made by researchers that packaging expensive, patented chemotherapy drugs into multiple vial sizes could reduce wastage and in turn significantly reduce healthcare costs.

While at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s 21st Annual Meeting, John A. Thompson, MD, co-director of the Melanoma Clinic at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discussed screening and diagnosis of melanoma, immunotherapy, and biomarkers.

CancerCare's 2016 Patient Access and Engagement Report underscores barriers for patient access to care, as well as communication gaps with care providers, both of which have a significant impact on patient outcomes.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)’s Value Framework evaluates the clinical benefit, toxicity, and cost of new interventions compared with the standard of care. ASCO’s CMO, Richard Schilsky, MD, FACP, FASCO, explains their plans to make the framework useful for clinical decisions at the point of care.

Algenpantucel-L, an allogenic whole-cell immunotherapeutic vaccine being developed to destroy a patient’s pancreatic cancer cells, has failed to improve overall survival (OS).

Measuring the quality of oncology care and associating it with reimbursement, and high drug prices remain important concerns of value-based outpatient cancer care. A healthcare economist reviews the current status and suggests a potential path forward.

Nanostring Technologies has announced that its Prosigna Breast Cancer Gene Signature Assay has received a positive coverage decision from the commercial health plan Aetna.

A new analysis of websites that provide information on pancreatic cancer, published in JAMA Surgery, has found that they overestimate the reading ability of the population and might even misguide them.

This week, the top stories in managed care included Express Scripts expressing a desire to partner with retail health clinics, a study that found oral cancer agents are being launched at much higher prices, and The American Journal of Managed Care's hepatitis C virus special issue was published online.

With reports documenting the shockingly rising use of e-cigarettes by middle and high school children, the announcement today that the FDA will extend its regulatory authority to include e-cigarettes is welcome news.

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia are extremely susceptible to infection, especially due to the prevalence of neutropenia.

Scientists have discovered a new biomarker that could predict survival outcomes, and help establish the need for aggressive treatment, in patients with head and neck cancer.

Smoking rates reported by insurers serving the ACA exchanges were consistently lower than findings from the CDC, suggesting that some are not being honest to avoid surcharges.

Patients and families can still have a limited understanding of palliative care, which may mean they have an open mind toward the suggestion, said Toby C. Campbell, MD, MSCI, associate professor of medicine, hematology-oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

A new commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine has cautioned clinicians to tone down the perceived benefits of earlier screening in colorectal cancer.

A new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has identified the cause of the high rates of bladder cancer cases diagnosed in the New England region of the United States: arsenic in drinking water from private wells.

Jeremy Schafer, PharmD, MBA, vice president and director of specialty solutions at Precision For Value, discussed a number of important topics regarding biosimilars, including how he expects the US will have an easier time approving biosimilars and the importance of patient education about biosimilars.

Access to surgery in early-stage patients with non-small cell lung cancer is dependent upon the extent of racial segregation in the patient’s neighborhood, according to a new study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

A study presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology 35, ongoing in Turin, Italy, has shown that women younger than 45 years, diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, who chose breast conservation therapy followed by radiation, over mastectomy, had a significantly greater risk of local disease recurrence.