Oncology

The FDA has approved a new drug to treat 2 rare types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma based on phase 3 clinical trial results that found mogamulizumab-kpkc improved progression-free survival and had a higher overall response rate compared with the chemotherapy vorinostat.

A new rule in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act’s 2019 Quality Payment Program and the proposed 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule could negatively affect the quality of cancer care for Medicare beneficiaries, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The global age-standardized lung cancer mortality rate among women is expected to increase by 43% from 2015 to 2030, while the global age-standardized breast cancer mortality rate is projected to decrease by 9%, according to an analysis published in Cancer Research.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories included, CMS allowing step therapy in Medicare Advantage plans in a bid to allow for drug price negotiation; larger practices with more resources, technology and care management processes have higher readmission rates than smaller practices; studies find that empagliflozin also reduces liver fat in patients with diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, along with the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators Network (PALISI), recently published guidelines in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology for the management of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The Trump administration will allow Medicare Advantage plans to negotiate prices for Part B drugs by providing them the opportunity to create plans that utilize step therapy. However, some in the healthcare industry view step therapy, also known as "fail first," as dangerous to patients with life-threatening diseases, such as cancer.

Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH, instructor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, attending physician of medical oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses challenges with managing patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and how clinical trials provide another treatment approach for these patients.

In July 2018, the FDA approved iobenguane I 131 (Azedra), the first treatment for patients with unresectable pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma, which are rare tumors of the adrenal gland, that require systemic anticancer therapy. These tumors, which typically appear at an early age and are associated with premature death, can increase the production of epinephrines and norepinephrines, leading to a host of symptoms, including hypertension, vomiting, weakness, and chest pain.

A blood-based test to assess tumor mutational burden (TMB) was recently discovered as being able to accurately identify patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who could benefit from checkpoint inhibitor treatment. The study, conducted by researchers at UC Davis, Genentech, and Foundation Medicine, was published in Nature Medicine.

Celyad, a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, recently announced that the FDA has accepted its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for CYAD-101, the first non–gene-edited allogeneic clinical program.

In addition to survival among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with hematological malignancies lagging behind that of children and older adults, AYAs also face unique challenges related to their physical, psychosocial, and economic circumstances.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Bristol-Myers Squibb recently announced that the European Commission has approved nivolumab (Opdivo) for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with melanoma that have lymph node involvement or metastatic disease and who have undergone complete resection.

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute recently announced that it is partnering with Royal Philips in order to establish and provide improved clinical pathways in cancer care.

In June, Syapse—a company that works with health systems to implement precision medicine across its organizations—took the next step in leading the shift toward precision medicine by launching the Syapse Precision Medicine Council.

Screening rates for cervical, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers in the United States fall short of Healthy People 2020 targets and significant disparities exist among subgroups.

With the evaluation period for the Oncology Care Model at its midway point, there is an opportunity to discuss how the program and other bundled payment programs can better deliver on aims to provide higher quality care at the same or lower cost.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories included CMS reversing its decision to suspend the risk adjustment payment program; out-of-pocket costs and copayment accumulators put an HIV prevention drug out of reach for patients; research finds geography can determine posttreatment imaging for women with breast cancer.

A new study published in Nature Biotechnology found that by attaching a kind of cytokine “backpack” to T-cells through the use of a nanoparticle gel enhanced their efficacy in treating tumors in mice.

Health plans continue to show interest in expanding outcomes-based contracts, according to an Avalere Health study that also found cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, and oncology represent the most common therapeutic areas to have these contracts.

CAR T-Cell therapy updates presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Annual Meeting held June 2018.

AJMC®TV interviews let you catch up on what’s new and important about changes in healthcare, with insights from key decision makers—from the clinician, to the health plan leader, to the regulator. When every minute in your day matters, AJMC®TV interviews keep you informed. Access the video clips at ajmc.com/interviews.

Care strategies updates from the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Annual Meeting, held June 2018.