ESMO 2011 Conference

A consortium of world cancer specialists, economists, and policymakers is tackling the issue of equitable cancer care in the face of rising cost of care in high-income countries.

The development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer has a significant impact in terms of morbidity and mortality and healthcare costs, according to a “real-world analysis” reported at the 2011 European Multi - disciplinary Cancer Congress.

Stockholm, Sweden—The use of everolimus (Afinitor) together with the aromatase inhibitor exemestane (Aromasin) more than halved the risk for disease progression in patients with advanced breast cancer, adding an average of 4 disease-free months, investigators reported at the 2011 European Society for Medical Oncology European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress.

Stockholm, Sweden—The indefinite use of bevacizumab (Avastin) in patients with re lapsed ovarian cancer got another boost at the 2011 European Multi disciplinary Cancer Congress, with a subanalysis of the phase 3 OCEANS trial showing consistent benefit across subgroups.

Stockholm, Sweden—Two expensive drugs may be better than 1 for maintenance treatment of advanced non– small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a study at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress.

Stockholm, Sweden—An investigational alpha-pharmaceutical not only prevented skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with prostate cancer with bone metastases in a phase 3 study presented at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress, but it also improved overall survival.

Stockholm, Sweden—The cost of cancer therapies is a growing concern not only for patients but also for providers and payers. Addressing the cost burden for those involved in cancer care is becoming a priority that cannot be avoided with the growing role of targeted therapies in oncology.

Stockholm, Sweden—With recognition of common tumor mutations and a pipeline full of biologic agents that target them, personalized medicine should be all but a fait accompli. But one expert told attendees at the European Society for Medical Oncology’s 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress, “We may be overpromising our patients.”