ASCO 2015 Highlights

The first-in-class cancer stem-cell inhibitor BBI608 demonstrated activity in advanced pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer (CRC), according to results of 2 small studies reported at the 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Linking physicians and patients is a major undertaking, but given the ubiquity of smartphone technology and the rise in app development, the healthcare industry is poised to leverage advances in communication and information exchange. At the 2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium, Steven J. Katz, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, discussed the use of deliberation systems to enhance communication with survivors and their care.

“When we talk about multidisciplinary cancer care teams, I think it is important to discuss MDT [multidisciplinary team] clinical decision-making,” said Dr Jacobs. “How does the team really work together?”

Secondary pathology review can significantly improve clinical outcomes through precise and accurate pathology diagnoses, according to Lavinia P. Middleton, MD, Professor, Department of Pathology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.

Web-based reporting in the outpatient community setting is not only feasible, but it can identify areas that need quality improvement initiatives, according to J. Russell Hoverman, MD, PhD, Vice President of Quality Programs, Texas Oncology, PA, Dallas.

Surgery for the primary treatment of T1-T3 oropharynx squamous-­cell carcinoma (OPC) does not increase the cost of care, even for patients requiring adjuvant treatment, according to A. Daniel Pinheiro, MD, an otolaryngologist at Mercy Clinic Ear, Nose, and Throat-Surgery Center, Springfield, MO, who presented his findings at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium.

A study using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) has demonstrated the high cost burden of adverse events (AEs) associated with the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The results were presented at ASH 2015 by Nicola Wallis, MRCPath, FFPM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ.

A higher score on a composite index of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), indicating genomic instability, correlated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with ovarian cancer who have received platinum-containing chemotherapy, according to results presented at the 2016 Society of Gynecologic Oncology annual meeting.