Oncology

When helping cancer patients decide if immuno-oncology treatments are right for them, clinicians should not focus only on the potential risks and benefits, said Debra L. Madden, cancer research advocate and patient representative. Oncologists should ensure patients are aware of the variable responses to the therapy, like the phenomenon of pseudoprogression.

At the 5th annual Patient-Centered Oncology Care® meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, moderator Bruce Feinberg, DO, was joined by a care provider, a payer, and a community oncology representative to discuss efforts that maintain the patient at the core of payment models.

While smoking has long been known to aggravate diabetes, the new study shows just how deadly the habit is for those with the chronic condition.

The 5th annual Patient-Centered Oncology Care® (PCOC) meeting, hosted by The American Journal of Managed Care, November 17-18, in Baltimore, Maryland, concluded with a panel discussion on the future of oncology care in 2017. The panelists concurred that value-based payment is here to stay despite the imminent changes in healthcare.

At the 5th annual Patient-Centered Oncology Care® meeting, Roy Beveridge, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Humana, walked the audience through the healthcare world’s transition to value-based care and explained why payers have faith in this transition.

An interview with geneticist and pathologist Gabriel Bien-Willner, MD, PhD, FCAP, on why we need to change our outlook toward precision medicine in oncology.

Value-based care in oncology will be a great thing for patients because it will bring the caregivers together, said Roy Beveridge, MD, chief medical officer of Humana and the keynote speaker at Patient-Centered Oncology Care.

A prospective trial that reached out to patients with cirrhosis to undergo an ultrasound screen found that the outreach effort doubled the percentage of patients who were screened for hepatocellular carcinoma.

There is little patient benefit to using granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to help white blood cell growth and reduce the risk of infection in women with breast cancer, according to a study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology.

At the 5th annual meeting of Patient-Centered Oncology Care®, hosted by The American Journal of Managed Care, November 17-18 in Baltimore, Maryland, experts with diverse experiences and backgrounds discussed the contradiction presented by immuno-oncology agents in the world of precision medicine.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s upset win almost certainly means the end of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as we know it, but experts who spoke at Patient-Centered Oncology Care Thursday and Friday said the movement toward value-based payment will continue. The fifth annual meeting, presented by The American Journal of Managed Care, took place in Baltimore, Maryland.

This week, the top managed care news included president-elect Donald Trump outlining parts of Obamacare he would be willing to keep, lawmakers confirming they still want to pass the 21st Century Cures Act, and the FDA held a 2-day hearing on off-label use.

What makes Patient-Centered Oncology Care stand out from other meetings is the equal representation among all stakeholders, which gives the meeting a unique depth, said Bruce Feinberg, DO, vice president and chief medical officer at Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions.

A survey examining nonfinancial barriers to cervical cancer screening indicated that women who were rarely or never screened were more likely to report having 1 or more chronic conditions. The study suggests that physicians include preventive services along with treatment for chronic conditions.

Sanofi Pasteur has announced that it has decided to discontinue production of the BCG vaccine, which is indicated for the treatment and prophylaxis of carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder.

A study published by researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle has found that admission to the intensive care unit reduced survival and increased the cost of care among patients undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.

A study conducted in Canada to estimate the prevalence of psychotropic and opioid medication use by older women diagnosed with breast cancer found a significant increase in use, especially during the active treatment phase.

A hospital in China has made history by injecting a patient with lung cancer with revolutionary, yet controversial, CRISPR-Cas9—edited T cells. The first patient was injected on October 28.

Amgen and Allergan have announced that they have submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) for ABP 215, a biosimilar to bevacizumab (Avastin).

A new study conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital evaluated the impact of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), along with induction chemotherapy and chemo-radiotherapy, in patients with advanced disease, and observed hints of success.

A prospective trial among breast cancer patients enrolled in The Pathways Study has found that higher levels of vitamin D can lower the risk of breast cancer morbidity and mortality.

A study conducted in Australia has concluded that a person’s inherited risk factors for melanoma should be considered when developing self-examination and surveillance programs.

Will Vice President Joe Biden's Cancer Moonshot initiative be able to sustain it's momentum in 2017 following the transition in government?

The FDA today granted approval to the programmed death ligand-1 inhibitor, nivolumab (Opdivo), for treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), following platinum-based treatment.

Breast cancer screening may not improve in early medical home implementation.

According to CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the cigarette smoking rate of adults in the United States has seen a significant drop during the decade from 2005 to 2015.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Ad Hoc Palliative Care Expert Panel has developed specific evidence-based recommendations for access to palliative care services for individuals with advanced cancer and for their family caregivers.

A study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has found that screening for distress tests improves provider confidence and awareness toward person-centered care.

Three of the 4 cities to pass taxes on soda are in Northern California, not far from Berkeley, which passed the nation's first soda tax in 2014.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation has developed a digital tool that can compare coverage of screening tests for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers across health insurance plans available in a specific state.