Articles

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on cancer care delivery in the United States—for the worse, but also for the better. Although access to high-quality care has certainly been compromised, the pandemic has also driven innovation, according to information presented at the 2020 ASCO Quality Care Symposium by experts who discussed recent healthcare transformations from the perspectives of community oncology and a larger healthcare system.

Myriad new treatment options have extended the survival and improved the quality of life for patients with cancer, but these options are also increasing the complexity of care.

Protecting patients with cancer from financial hardship could save more than money. According to data presented at the 2020 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, mitigating the financial burden of cancer treatment on patients could save lives as well.

Lorlatinib (Lorbrena) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and intracranial response rates compared with the former standard of care, crizotinib (Xalkori), as first-line treatment for patients with advanced ALK-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as reported in a planned interim analysis of the CROWN trial.

Utilization management tools and prior authorization are associated with delays in care for patients and high costs for physicians. In this session, panelists discuss the impact on cancer care, with an eye toward providing appropriate care while minimizing administrative burden.

With more than 1.8 million diagnoses of cancer per year in the United States, identifying malignancies at the earliest stage is priority among physicians. In this session, experts discuss the future of early-stage cancer diagnosis and how to improve cancer screenings.

Oncology nurse and patient navigators are playing an ever-increasing role in supporting patients with cancer and their caregivers. In this session, experts discuss the standardized measures and processes used by oncology nurse and patient navigators.

In this session, experts discuss the challenges faced at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, how they worked to overcome them, and what lessons they will take with them into the future.

Specialized oncology pharmacy programs are playing an ever-increasing role in the complex delivery of care. In this session, panelists discuss the obstacles and successes of specialized oncology pharmacy programs.

In this session, a panel of experts share the Wall Street perspective on the opportunities and challenges ahead for cancer drug developers and healthcare providers.