Articles

New York, NY—Supportive care is effective in improving outcomes, but the growth of supportive care programs is hampered by economics, explained Eduardo Bruera, MD, Chair, Palliative Care & Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, speaking at the 2012 Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer International Symposium.

Amy J. Berman, BS, RN, was diagnosed with incurable stage IV breast cancer almost 2 years ago. In the following interview, she discusses with Value-Based Cancer Care (VBCC) her recent experience, and why she chose to focus on quality of life rather than on the length of her life.

Chicago, IL—The surprising results of a randomized trial on patient preference for one cancer therapy over another show that patient-reported quality-of-life (QOL) differences influence treatment preference far more than physicians had imagined, suggested researchers at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.

San Francisco, CA—In what appears to be the first study to use real-world, non–clinical trial data to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of pemetrexed/platinum (Pem/P) therapy used first line in patients with advanced non–smallcell lung cancer (NSCLC), this combination trended toward being more effective and less costly than carboplatin/ paclitaxel plus bevacizumab (C/Pa+B), reported Manan Shah, PharmD, PhD, with Xcenda, Palm Harbor, FL, and colleagues at the 2012 Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy annual meeting.

San Francisco, CA—The vast majority of published evidence indicates that the relative treatment effect of chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer is as good for elderly patients as it is for younger ones, according to a systematic literature review by Anna Hung, a student in the program, and C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, Professor, Pharmacoeconomics, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research Department, Associate Director, Center on Drugs and Public Policy.

A new geneexpression test may soon be used for the diagnosis of such nodules, which could reduce the use of diagnostic surgery in this population (Alexander EK, et al. N Engl J Med. Epub 2012 Jun 25).

The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study included a cohort of 14,337 childhood cancer survivors (which is believed to be the largest cohort of this type) and assessed the risk for gastrointestinal (GI) malignant neoplasms in this population (Henderson TO, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156:757-766).

Cervical cancer remains an important public health issue. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued an update to its 2003 cervical cancer screening recommendations based on current evidence (Moyer VA, on behalf of the USPSTF. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156:880-891).

San Francisco, CA—In its national coverage decision (NCD) for sipuleucel-T in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) left the coverage decision for any off-label use of medications to the discretion of the local Medicare contractors, citing an absence of data on which to make a coverage decision.