Articles

Chicago, IL—Data continue to build for the application of immunotherapy for patients with metastatic melanoma. At the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), several sessions were devoted to recent advances in melanoma, focusing on new ways to boost the activity of current therapies, introducing a new class of immunotherapy in development, and a new form of immunotherapy—an oncolytic vaccine.

Lynch syndrome (LS) is an inherited syndrome of predisposition to cancer with an increased risk for colorectal cancer ranging from 30% to 80%. Prostate cancer has been described as a component tumor of LS, but the lifetime risk of prostate cancer in patients with LS has not been quantified because of inherent difficulties. In a new analysis, researchers have used genetic data to define the risk of prostate cancer in men with LS (Raymond VM, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2013;31:1713-1718).

Chicago, IL—Adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard chemotherapy improves overall survival (OS) in women with metastatic or relapsed cervical cancer, representing the first instance in which a targeted therapy has significantly prolonged OS in this patient population.

Chicago, IL—For years, the cancer research community has pushed for the use of surrogate end points in clinical trials as a means of hastening the drug approval process. At the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, the speakers discussed the potential implications for researchers, providers, and patients.

At the Third Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care, 2 oncologists representing opposite corners of the oncology care landscape discussed the current trends in the delivery of patient care, and the challenges that are facing oncologists.

Oncology practices need to transform the way they deliver cancer care, said John D. Sprandio, MD, FACP, Chief of Oncology at Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill, PA, and Medical Director of ION Solutions.

Hollywood, FL—The cost of cancer care or cancer cure means different things to different stakeholders. Finding a consistent definition may be impossible, but in today’s environment “it is probably unfair to focus on costs without incorporating value.