Oncology

Now that 1 biosimilar has made it to market in the United States, Pamela S. Becker, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, expects more to follow and that, hopefully, biosimilars will help achieve cost savings for healthcare.

Robert W. Carlson, MD, CEO of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), discussed calculating value in cancer care and the dimensions of NCCN's value assessment framework, Evidence Blocks.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)'s 21st Annual Conference, Robert Carlson, MD, chief executive officer, NCCN, provided a flavor for their value framework, the Evidence Blocks.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference, John A. Thompson, MD, presented an update on where the field of melanoma treatment stands today.

Palliative care should be introduced as early as possible, even as early as diagnosis, so patients hear about it early and not during a late stage of their disease when they might need hospice, Sophia K. Smith, PhD, MSW, associate professor at the Duke School of Nursing, said at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Annual Meeting.

High-quality cancer care must include palliative care in addition to the more traditional care, such as oncology, radiology, surgery, and imaging, Toby C. Campbell, MD, MSCI, associate professor of medicine, hematology-oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and chief of Palliative Care and program director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Training Program, said at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Annual Conference.

During the opening session at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference, healthcare providers came together to discuss palliation from the provider and the patient perspective.

The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence have developed a position statement recommending access to smoking cessation interventions for smokers in the high-risk group who undergo a lung cancer screen.

Among pediatric patients with cancer, fever and neutropenia continue to be a common and potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy.

A study presented at the 47th Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting held in San Diego, found that women with ovarian cancer who received statin therapy in tandem with their cancer treatment had better survival.

Pointing out that high drug prices are access barriers, the Congressmen have urged the government agencies to hold a public hearing to address the issue.

It is imperative that we gather more mature data on a much larger number of patients to accurately assess efficacy, safety, potential harms, durability of response, and impact on disease progression and overall survival of the new immunotherapy treatments.

A study among terminal cancer patients in Japan found that those with a prognosis of days or weeks survived longer when cared for at home.

This week's top managed care stories include a lawsuit between Anthem and Express Scripts, trouble with Medicare's bidding program for diabetes test strips, and the cost of reporting quality measurements.

In a survey conducted by a sales and marketing firm, oncologists, oncology nurses, and oncology administrators have expressed displeasure with the customer experience rendered by oncology manufacturers.

A retrospective research study has identified disparity in the use of the test, primarily driven by race, insurance status, and the type of facility where treatment was administered.

A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that boys who underwent chemotherapy to treat their cancer were less likely to father children.

With an increasing population of head and neck cancer survivors in the United States, the American Cancer Society identified the need to develop survivorship guidelines that can lend support to primary care clinicians and other health practitioners as they care for survivors.

Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is a common adverse effect in children with cancer, yet there are less serious causes of febrile neutropenia for which extended in-hospital treatment might be unnecessary.

"Our analysis suggests that annual screens may not be warranted for patients who have had an initial negative scan, and future risk prediction and cost-effectiveness models could incorporate these data to improve screening guidelines," said the study's lead author.

Growing numbers of women with breast cancer in one breast are choosing to have preventive double mastectomies despite there being little evidence that the surgery actually improves quality of life for those women.

Analysis of data on nearly 27,000 patients with rectal cancer found distance from site of radiation therapy, along with a few other factors, could significantly impact the possibility of the patient receiving treatment.

The program will air nearly 3 years after Jolie stunned the country with news that she'd had surgery to remove both breasts after a genetic test revealed she was at very high risk for cancer.

Based on the review of additional data submitted by Janssen, an appraisal committee from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has finalized a guidance that recommends abiraterone for use in some prostate cancer patients prior to chemotherapy.

In states that have not expanded Medicaid, uninsured low-income women face more difficulties in accessing recommended screenings for breast and cervical cancer.

Twitter may have the potential to promote trial recruitment for cancer clinical trials by promoting interest and boosting enrollment in the trials.

This case study from the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA) focuses on a new dispensary in a moderately sized oncology community practice that prescribes to NCODA’s Quality Standards and outlines the processes developed to assist Medicare patients in accessing their oral cancer medications.

The 42nd annual meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers ensured that none of the oncology care providers in the audience left without realizing that healthcare has slowly been migrating to include value in care delivery and reimbursement decisions.

Joseph Alvar­nas, MD, direc­tor of value-based analytics at City of Hope, Duarte, California, and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Oncology painted an upbeat picture of cancer cure rates at the 2015 meeting of Patient-Centered Oncology Care.

A new study in Australia adds to the evolving knowledge on adverse cutaneous effects of pembrolizumab and nivolumab. Could they also indicate better prognosis?