Episode 4 - Pushing Reform through Immunotherapy

As the panelists explore the costs and value of genomic precision therapy and immunotherapy, Michael Kolodziej, MD, explains that multiple factors should be considered when determining the cost of care for a cancer patient. For instance, he believes that 30% of total healthcare costs for cancer patients is wastefully spent.

While curative immunotherapy is still not quite on the table, clinicians have already witnessed a “plateau of survival” for melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab, as explained by Jeffrey Weber, MD, PhD.

Dr Weber agrees that wasteful spending is a concern, and as he explains that survival is the ultimate goal for cancer treatment, he and Dr Kolodziej conclude that reimbursement models need to be addressed to eliminate wasteful spending, identify value, and provide meaningful outcomes.