Oncology

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.

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were treated at a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center had a 53% lower risk of early mortality, according to a study published in Cancer.

No one wants to think that they can’t afford the treatment, and they certainly don’t want to raise that issue with their physician, said Ian Manners, MBA, co-founder, CEO, Vivor.

CMS has finalized a National Coverage Determination (NCD) that covers diagnostic laboratory tests that use Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for patients with advanced cancer, according to a press release. The finalization comes a few months after the FDA granted approval to FoundationOne CDx, the first-of-a-kind comprehensive companion diagnostic test for solid tumors.

Finding inefficiencies in operational processes to identify gaps, improve symptom management and adherence, and optimizing value-based care—these are a few of the advantages of implementing technology in the daily operations of a community-based practice. This was the takeaway message from a series of presentations at the Association of Community Cancer Centers' 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, March 14-16, 2018, in Washington DC.

Care has become very complex and it isn’t enough to just give patients information and hope they can process it on their own, said Barbara Tofani, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, administrative director of the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center.

This study demonstrated that a false-positive mammogram was associated with increases in outpatient visits, but not provider referrals, for 1 year post mammogram.

At the Association of Community Cancer Centers' 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, held March 14-16, 2018, in Washington, DC, panelists shared strategies that have helped their organizations adapt to value-based care while ensuring that they never lose sight of the patient at the center of it all.

Michael Reff, executive director of National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA), discusses the role of the medically integrated dispensary in the transition to value-based payment models.

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

The increasing level of frustration that Tom Gallo saw in cancer care prompted him to choose burnout as the theme for his year as president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).

A cancer therapy stewardship program can be used to improve clinical quality and patient care by emphasizing the importance of value and evidence in oncology.

What are the biggest drivers of change in oncology care and what needs most attention? This was the crux of the discussion during an early panel at the Association of Community Cancer Centers' 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, held March 14-16, 2018, in Washington, DC.

The increasing complexity and personalization of clinical trials are major challenges for managing clinical trials, said James Hamrick, MD, MPH, Kaiser Permanente and Flatiron Health.

At the Association of Community Cancer Center’s 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, March 14-16, 2018, in Washington, DC, payer and physician representatives shared the stage with the president of a cancer foundation that is striving to break the barriers that prevent easy healthcare information exchange and access to cancer care.

A new study recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified a possible solution for improving the efficacy of moxetumomab pasudotox, or moxe, in patients with relapsed and chemotherapy-resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Overview of alternative payment models and how leading national organizations are involved with linking quality improvement initiatives and payment reform.

Patient education is critical for improving adherence as many patients don’t always know what their medications are or even how they can be taken with other medications they area already on, said Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCPS, clinical coordinator for University of Arizona Cancer Center.

Information technology and an integrated clinical team can help improve medication adherence for patients receiving oral oncolytics, said Steven D'Amato, RPh, BSPharm, executive director of New England Cancer Specialists.

To achieve a similar capture rate for nonwhite patients as for white patients at age 50, screening ages would need to be reduced to 47 years for black and Asian women, and 46 years for Hispanic women.

The FDA has accepted a new supplemental Biologics License Application and granted Priority Review for Merck's pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer, marking the first filing acceptance for an anti–PD-1 therapy in cervical cancer.

Linda Frisk, PharmD, of Arizona Oncology, discusses the role of the pharmacist in new value-based payment models and her experience with the Oncology Care Model (OCM).

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is requesting public comment on 3 antiandrogen therapies for nonmetastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC): abiraterone, enzalutamide, and apalutamide.

Thomas Graf, MD, chief medical officer and vice president, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, discusses the impact of increases in drug prices on oncology stakeholders.

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.

Thomas LeBlanc, MD, Duke Cancer Institute, discusses the trends of hospice care services used among patients with blood cancer compared with patients with solid tumors.

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have developed a new tool to measure the impact of social networks on the coping skills of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors.

Patients who had breast cancer or lymphoma who were treated more than 3 times are more likely to develop congestive heart failure than those who did not have cancer, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session.

This week, the top managed care stories included Cigna's deal to buy Express Scripts; Seema Verma, Alex Azar, and Scott Gottlieb, MD, made the rounds at health conferences; an analysis finds FDA's accelerated approval pathway has been a success with hematology and oncology drugs.

Care coordination is vital to ensure improved patient outcomes as both CMS and private payers are paying increased attention to it, pointed out Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center at University of Pittsburgh. How is your institution infusing care coordination in its workflow?