Articles

Copenhagen, Denmark—Patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) had a small but significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) but no overall survival (OS) benefit after receiving the multikinase inhibitor nintedanib (Ofev), according to results from the LUME-Colon 1 clinical trial reported by principal investigator Eric Van Cutsem, MD, Clinical Digestive Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium, at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

Copenhagen, Denmark—A novel approach to targeting the estrogen receptor (ER) led to improved progression-free survival (PFS) in postmenopausal women with advanced, hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer, according to data from the FALCON clinical trial that were reported at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

Copenhagen, Denmark—Adjuvant immunotherapy with ipilimumab (Yervoy) led to significant improvement in long-term overall survival (OS) among patients with high-risk melanoma, according to results from a 5.3-year follow-up in a randomized clinical trial reported at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress and published simultaneously online.

Boston, MA—Are we winning the war on cancer? According to Joshua J. Ofman, MD, MSHS, Senior Vice President, Global Value, Access and Policy, Amgen, the answer is yes. Dr Ofman discussed the economics of cancer, including challenges facing insurance providers and ways to impact the rising cost of cancer care, at the War on Cancer forum hosted by The Economist.

San Francisco, CA—For patients with hematologic malignancies, end-of-life care varies but often involves high-intensity interventions as death approaches. According to a recent analysis by Cara L. McDermott, PharmD, PhD, MSc, Senior Fellow, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, and colleagues, these interventions can come with a hefty price tag, too.

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.

Copenhagen, Denmark—Two more PD-1 targeted drugs staked a claim to a role in treating advanced urothelial cancer, according to data from 2 studies that were reported at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

Copenhagen, Denmark—Maintenance therapy with niraparib, an oral PARP inhibitor, significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with recurrent, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer regardless of their BRCA mutation status and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) status.