ASCO 2015 Highlights

San Antonio, TX—The use of an investigational electronic scalp-cooling device in patients with breast cancer who had received alopecia-inducing chemotherapy resulted in reduced or no hair loss in 50% of the patients, according to results of a randomized clinical trial reported at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. By contrast, no patient in the control group had hair preservation.

San Antonio, TX—Neoadjuvant therapy with the investigative CDK4/CDK6 inhibitor abemaciclib, alone or in combination with anastrozole (Arimidex), showed promising activity in postmenopausal hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer enrolled in the phase 2 NeoMONARCH study. Correlative tissue studies demonstrated that abemaciclib inhibited cell-cycle proliferation and activated the immune system, supporting its anticancer activity. Abemaciclib received a breakthrough therapy designation in 2015 as monotherapy for the treatment of patients with refractory HR-positive advanced breast cancer in heavily pretreated patients.

San Antonio, TX—The addition of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) to the antiestrogen chemotherapy fulvestrant (Faslodex) led to a 2-fold increase in progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer compared with fulvestrant alone, according to results of a randomized clinical trial presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

St Louis, MO—Financial counselors can help patients find assistance with the often-prohibitive costs of cancer treatment. According to Jordan Karwedsky, a financial counselor at HSHS St Vincent Regional Cancer Center and Green Bay Oncology, Green Bay, WI, patients at these organizations saved more than $1 million on intravenous and oral chemotherapy in 2015 through copay assistance.

San Francisco, CA—Nivolumab (Opdivo) as salvage treatment significantly reduced the risk for death after second-line or later chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. In a double-blind, randomized phase 3 trial, the median overall survival was improved by 37% in patients assigned to nivolumab versus placebo after previous treatment with at least 2 regimens, reported Yoon-Koo Kang, MD, PhD, Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea, at the 2017 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Las Vegas, NV—A panel discussion at the 2017 Cancer Center Business Summit revealed continuing gaps in the evolution of healthcare reform among providers, payers, and patients with cancer. Michael Kolodziej, MD, National Medical Director, Managed Care Strategy, Flatiron Health, New York, NY—an oncologist with experience on the provider and the payer sides—moderated the panel discussion, which offered perspectives from the trenches on healthcare reform.

The rising cost of healthcare, including cancer care, is an established trend in the United States. In 2015, Americans spent $3.2 trillion (nearly $10,000 per person) on healthcare, including hospital inpatient and outpatient care, physicians’ services, and prescription drugs. The National Cancer Institute estimates that by 2020, the annual cost of healthcare for Americans with cancer will reach $156 billion; based on current trends, this means that cancer care will represent approximately 20% of the country’s annual healthcare expenditures.

San Diego, CA—Nelfinavir (Viracept), a drug used for HIV, led to a surprisingly high response rate when added to bor­tezomib (Velcade) in patients with proteasome inhibitor–refractory multiple myeloma, according to a phase 2 study reported by Christoph Driessen, MD, myeloma specialist, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland, at the 2016 American Society of Hematology meeting.

San Diego, CA—Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) including imatinib (Gleevec), nilotinib (Tasigna), and dasatinib (Sprycel), have dramatically improved outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the costs of these drugs have spiraled out of control, causing some patients to stop treatment or cut their dosage because of financial toxicity. Data presented at the 2016 American Society of Hematology meeting show that it is possible for some patients with CML to reduce their TKI dose by 50% and maintain remission, perhaps even stop treatment altogether once deep and durable remission has been achieved after approximately 5 years of treatment.