Value in Oncology

San Francisco, CA—In addition to improving quality of care and patient satisfaction, palliative care can also save hospitals millions of dollars, according to a study presented by lead investigator Sarina Isenberg, PhD candidate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. The study’s final analysis showed that expanded patient access to palliative care demonstrated substantial savings to the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System and could lead to approximately $20 million in savings in 5 years, said Ms Isenberg at the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium.

Boston, MA—The issues surrounding the cost of cancer care are large and looming in today’s healthcare landscape, but these problems are nothing compared to what is coming, according to Amitabh Chandra, PhD, Director of Health Policy Research, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA, who spoke at the War on Cancer forum organized by The Economist.

Boston, MA—Drug pricing in the pharmaceutical industry came under scrutiny at the recent War on Cancer forum organized by The Economist. An expert panel discussed the disassociation between the actual benefits of cancer drugs and their prices.

A study by David H. Howard, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Emory University, Atlanta, and colleagues demonstrated that although anticancer drugs are associated with increased expenses, they were also accompanied by considerable survival benefits across different cancer types (Howard DH, et al. Health Aff [Millwood]. 2016;35:1581-1587)

A new study of the geographic distribution of cancer surgeries in the Medicare population has shown that performing radical prostatectomies in high-volume centers leads to improved outcomes and reduced costs of care. Referring patients to a high-volume provider within 100 miles could save >$20 million annually, according to data presented at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting and published just before the meeting.

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors can significantly extend survival of patients with metastatic disease, more than 50% of the patients who use them have serious, grade 3 to grade 5 adverse events. These toxicities comprise a considerable proportion of the total number of immune checkpoint inhibitors, especially those that target PD-1, said Neil T. Mason, MBA, Personalized Medicine Strategist, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, who presented his study results at a poster session at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.