Articles

Chicago, IL—Clinical pathways have an important role in the integration of new cancer drugs into clinical practice. Between January 2015 and mid-2017, the FDA granted more than 60 new approvals in oncology, with new drugs accounting for the vast majority (as opposed to new indications). Staying abreast of new drugs and new indications for specific types of cancer requires much time, which presents an extra burden on community oncologists.

Innovation takes time, especially when it comes to cancer research. However, delays in the adoption of novel oncology treatments can have a significant impact on patient health, reported Jason Shafrin, PhD, Director of Healthcare Quality and Value-Based Research Methods, and Senior Research Economist, Precision Health Economics, Los Angeles, CA, who presented the results of a geographic-based analysis of claims data at the 2017 Cancer Survivorship Symposium.

Orlando, FL—Non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprises several different subtypes, necessitating broad molecular panel testing to understand the correct diagnosis and the appropriate treatment, said Wallace Akerley, MD, Senior Director, Community Oncology Research, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, at the 2017 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) annual conference.

For the first time, a randomized clinical trial has shown significant tumor shrinkage with a phos­phoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. The phase 3 study LORELEI compared neoadjuvant therapy with letrozole plus placebo versus letrozole plus taselisib, a PI3K inhibitor, in this patient population.

Madrid, Spain—Maintenance therapy with the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib (Rubraca) after response to platinum-containing therapy significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) by 11.2 months in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer compared with placebo, according to overall results of the ARIEL3 trial. The study was presented at the 2017 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress.

Madrid, Spain—Durvalumab (Imfinzi), a PD-L1 inhibitor, improved progression-free survival (PFS) by 11.2 months compared with placebo in patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that did not progress after standard treatment with chemoradiotherapy. These results—presented at the 2017 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress—come from PACIFIC, the first phase 3 clinical trial of a PD-L1 inhibitor in patients with locally advanced NSCLC outside of the metastatic setting.

Community oncology has an important role in eliminating barriers to accessing healthcare and reducing disparities in cancer care. Improving access to high-quality, cost-effective cancer care was addressed from a variety of perspectives at the 2017 Association for Value-Based Cancer Care Summit.

Ongoing uncertainty over cost-­sharing reduction payments and premium subsidies threatens the sustainability of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the implementation of various quality initiatives contained within it. Consequently, several health plans are reducing their footprint in the health insurance exchanges, further threatening the stability of the ACA.

San Francisco, CA—Therapies targeting immune responses against solid tumors have led to dramatic improvements in outcomes, but the role for immunotherapy in the treatment of acute leukemia is still being defined.