Articles

Lung cancer false- positive rates varied 20-fold across the United States, raising questions about the potential impact on organized screening programs, according to data presented at the 2013 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

A chemotherapy–immunotherapy combination has been shown to be extremely effective in a small clinical trial of previously untreated mantle-cell lymphoma, leading to objective responses in every patient, including complete responses in almost 90%, investigators reported at the 2013 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

Washington, DC—Tobacco use among patients with cancer is an important but often overlooked issue that requires intervention by oncology practices. In recognition of the problem and the gap between the need for intervention and the services delivered, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) issued a policy on tobacco use at its 2013 annual meeting.

New Orleans, LA—“Patient engagement” is a healthcare buzz phrase, and a critical part of this concept is patient connectivity to information technology (IT). GetWellNetwork is a patient-focused IT system that aims to empower the patient to improve outcomes in a variety of disease states.

Updates to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines® were presented at the 2013 NCCN annual conference. The updates were minor for most tumor sites, but new guidelines were introduced for penile cancer and for survivorship.

A case management program for terminally ill patients with cancer can reduce cancer-related healthcare costs and extend hospice length of stay, according to an analysis of the Cancer Support Program (CSP) of Optum Health, a health services company, which was presented at the 2013 National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® annual conference.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for older patients with ovarian cancer would save $19 million annually compared with primary de­bulking surgery, based on a new cost- model assessment

Early palliative care proved to be cost-effective and cost-saving versus routine end-of-life care for patients with recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a decision-model analysis.

Hollywood, FL—Community oncology will not survive in the absence of novel management strategies and process improvements, according to Michael Kolodziej, MD, FACP, National Medical Director of Oncology Solutions, who offered his insights at the Third Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

One of the FDA’s highest priorities at the moment is providing guidance on drugs and medical devices to drug and device companies on their use of social media, according to Tom Abrams, head of the FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion.