During this segment, Richard W. Joseph, MD, discusses the recent approval of the oncolytic agents pembrolizumab and nivolumab for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and his expectations for a combination agent of ipilimumab and nivolumab that is currently pending approval.
Dr Joseph explains that even with a higher level of toxicity, this new combination therapy option is likely to become a front-line treatment option because its benefits are likely to outweigh its risks. However, there may still be certain patients who are not appropriate candidates for combination therapy, he remarks.
“What’s going to be interesting is how to place these [single-agent therapies vs combination therapy] in the right order,” says Dr Joseph.
To help determine the proper sequence of therapy, additional clinical studies and collaboration with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network will be important, he advises.
New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
Listen
Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
Listen