Articles

Chicago, IL—The National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation of a comprehensive cancer center trumps high case volume as a predictor of outcomes in ovarian cancer, according to a single-­region analysis.

Chicago, IL—Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor maintenance therapy with olaparib (Lynparza) for relapsed, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer would meet conventional standards of cost-effectiveness only if the drug price decreased by ?66%, according to a modeling study.

Chicago, IL—The addition of bevaciz­umab (Avastin) to standard chemotherapy extended survival in women with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer compared with chemotherapy alone in the phase 3 randomized controlled GOG0213 trial. The results were presented at the 2015 Society of Gynecologic Oncology annual meeting.

Hollywood, FL—The updated National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline allows for the upfront use of docetaxel (Taxotere) in some men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). This and other systemic therapies represent the most significant changes in the updated guideline for the treatment of patients with metastatic CRPC, said Andrew J. Armstrong, MD, ScM, Co­-Leader, Genitourinary Oncology Research Program, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, at the 2015 NCCN annual conference.

Hollywood, FL—The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) now recommends nivolumab (Opdivo) as subsequent therapy for metastatic squamous non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after its recent FDA approval.

Hollywood, FL—A new clinical guideline for smoking cessation in patients with cancer encourages the use of evidence-based pharmacotherapy, behavioral therapy, and close follow-up with retreatment if needed, said Peter G. Shields, MD, Deputy Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center, James Cancer Hospital, Columbus, OH, at the 2015 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) conference.

Hollywood, FL—Watch and wait remains the standard of care for patients with asymptomatic early-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), even for high-risk patients, but once therapy is indicated, targeted agents may supplant chemotherapy in the first-line treatment setting, said William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, Center Medical Director, Department of Leukemia, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, at the 2015 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) annual conference.

Orlando, FL—Patients with urologic cancer who are readmitted after a surgery to a second hospital and not to their original hospital are more likely to have complications than patients readmitted to their original surgical hospital, according to findings presented at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

Orlando, FL—Significant cost-savings in treating patients with prostate cancer could be achieved in the US healthcare system with the use of the cell-cycle progression (CCP) gene-expression assay called Prolaris (from Myriad Genetics Laboratories), according to a poster from E. David Crawford, MD, Professor of Surgery and Radiation Oncology, University of Colorado, Aurora, and colleagues, presented at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.