Latest Conference Articles

In the first part of a 2-part preview interview in advance of this year’s virtual 2020 Community Oncology Conference, The American Journal of Managed Care® speaks with Cheryl Larson, president and chief executive officer of the Midwest Business Group on Health, about how she is helping employer organizations navigate their pharmacy benefits managers and manage employee expectations.

At this year's Community Oncology Conference, Antonio Ciaccia, the chief strategy officer of 3 Axis Advisors, will present about pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and drug pricing issues. The conference, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance, takes place virtually on April 23 and April 24, and The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) is previewing some of the speakers and topics.

The Community Oncology Alliance's annual conference is a space where industry experts and key opinion leaders can share ideas on improving patient care and advocate for community oncology, said Kathy Oubre, MS, chief operating officer at Pontchartrain Cancer Center.

The 2020 Community Oncology Conference, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), will take place virtually on April 23 and April 24. The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) is bringing you a series of previews so you can learn more about what to expect when you attend this virtual meeting. In this interview we speak with Debra Patt, MD, MPH, MBA, executive vice president of policy and strategy at Texas Oncology, who is presenting on applied informatics in oncology at the virtual meeting.

The 2020 Community Oncology Conference, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), takes place virtually on April 23 and April 24. The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) is bringing you a series of previews so you can learn more about what you'll hear when you attend this virtual meeting. In this interview we're speaking with Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, the chief medical director of West Cancer Center and the chief medical officer of OneOncology, and who is moderating a stakeholder panel discussion on genomic profiling in cancer.

The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC® ) interviewed Martha Gulati, MD, cardiologist at Banner – University Medicine Heart Institute, on findings of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels in relation to cardiovascular outcomes and smoking cessation with e-cigarettes. These studies are part of the 2020 American College of Cardiology / World Congress of Cardiology Virtual Experience.

Higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) found in the blood appear to explain why icosapent ethyl drives down the risk of a cardiovascular (CV) event, according to findings presented at the 2020 American College of Cardiology/World Congress of Cardiology Virtual Experience.

Patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia saw average reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of 47.1% over 24 weeks. Reductions began to appear as early as 2 weeks after patients started taking the drug in the double-blind trial.

The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC® ) interviewed Craig I. Coleman, PharmD, University of Connecticut, School of Pharmacy/Hartford Hospital Evidence-Based Practice Center, on bleeding-related hospitalizations in both patients at high thrombotic risk and those administered andexanet alfa or 4-Factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4FPCC).

The American Journal of Managed Care® discussed an indirect comparison of andexanet alfa and prothrombin complex concentrate therapy with Alexander T. Cohen, MBBS, MSc, MD, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Results for ISCHEMIA and ISCHEMIA-CKD, first presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) and due to publish shortly, continued to generate discussion Sunday, when the 2020 American College of Cardiology / World Congress of Cardiology Virtual Experience featured a pair of online presentations with additional insights into these trials.

In VICTORIA, patients within the first 3 quartiles of peptide elevation had results more impressive than the overall findings. However, patients with the highest quartile did not seem to benefit. This raises the question whether the sickest of the sick patients will benefit from vericiguat, said Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, chairman for the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi.

The American Journal of Managed Care® interviewed Ashish Pershad, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Banner–University Medicine Heart Institute, on findings of the PARTNER 3 low-risk randomized trial, SPYRAL-HTN OFF MED pivotal trial, and ISCHEMIA and ISCHEMIA-CKD trials. These studies are part of the 2020 American College of Cardiology / World Congress of Cardiology Virtual Experience.

Results of a study comparing apixaban with low-molecular-weight heparin as a treatment to prevent recurrent blood clots in patients with cancer may assuage some of the concern about the bleeding risk associated with direct-acting oral anticoagulants.

We need more than ever credible clinical data both on the pandemic, but also how to understand how the pandemic’s going to affect patients in the cardiovascular field, said Richard Kovacs, MD, FACC, clinical cardiologist and president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

VOYAGER-PAD helps to underscore that peripheral artery disease is a different disease state than coronary disease and different than stroke. Although they're all unified by an underlying biology of atherosclerosis, the character and the nature of that disease is different, said Marc P. Bonaca, MD, MPH, cardiologist and vascular medicine specialist who serves as the Executive Director of CPC Clinical Research and CPC Community Health.

The trial showed that patients taking this novel therapy, an oral soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, were 10% less likely to experience the primary outcome—a composite of death from cardiovascular (CV) causes or first hospitalization for HF—than those taking placebo. The drug could address the sickest patients through a mechanism that would take on HF progression.

Results from VICTORIA show vericiguat produced a 10% relative risk reduction in the highest-risk patients with heart failure. Study patients had about 3 times the health risk seen in recent heart failure trials, which showed higher relative risk reductions. However, VICTORIA saw a 4% absolute risk reduction, which is the same as the others, said Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, chairman for the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi.

The study, Vascular Outcomes Study of ASA Along with Rivaroxaban in Endovascular or Surgical Limb Revascularization for PAD (VOYAGER-PAD), was designed to fill a knowledge gap: it asked whether a well-known therapy developed to prevent blood clots could be used to prevent events, including acute ischemia in the leg for patients after revascularization.

We have our featured research that we're going to bring—our keynotes, our Young Investigator Awards presentations, and we're going to have some special emphasis on global health, especially relevant in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Richard Kovacs, MD, FACC, clinical cardiologist and president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

Research highlighting these trends, based on 10 million death records pulled from a CDC database, will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC), which is taking place as a virtual meeting March 28-30.

Giving statins to women before they undergo treatment for breast cancer may help prevent the heart damage caused by some well-known therapies, including trastuzumab.

To optimize use of biologics for asthma, greater attention should be paid to adherence, according to an abstract prepared and published for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

Two studies discussed the feasibility of different parameters for the infusion of a product for patients with primary immunodeficiency disorder in abstracts prepared for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

The study noted that few oral immunotherapy (OIT) studies include patients with a history of severe reactions requiring epinephrine.

Is it cost-effective to prescribe epinephrine to every patient on allergen immunotherapy (AIT)? Does AIT have an impact on healthcare costs? These and other issues were included among the research prepared and published for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

Social determinants found within a person’s environment, mainly where they live and work, have been shown to influence outcomes related to health, functioning, and quality of life, especially where risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is concerned, according to study results that will be presented during ACC.20/WCC Virtual.

High infusion parameters for pump-assisted and manual push 20% subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg), or IgPro20, were well tolerated by patients with primary immunodeficiency disorder (PID), according to a recent abstract prepared for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

Included among the abstracts prepared and published for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting are several that looked at the clinical and psychosocial factors that complicate asthma in pediatric patients. A few are highlighted here.

The first US patients with peanut allergy have been treated with Aimmune Therapeutic’s Palforzia oral immunotherapy (OIT), the company said. The treatment was approved by the FDA in January, and is the first approved treatment for patients with peanut allergy.