ASCO 2015 Highlights

Chicago, IL—Immunotherapy holds promise for the maintenance treatment of late-stage ovarian cancer, according to results of a phase 2 clinical trial. The vaccine, made from the patient’s own tumor cells, was able to prolong recurrence-free survival compared with standard of care.

At a June 2014 Institute of Medicine (IOM) workshop on patient access to oncology drugs, several cancer experts discussed various strategies on how to lower out-of-pocket (OOP) costs of oncology drugs for patients with cancer.

Significant gains in cancer research and prevention have led to longer survival, improved quality of life, and decreased disease burden. The 2015 annual report on “Clinical Cancer Advances” from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) outlines the biggest advances made in oncology, and for the first time designates one cancer as the Advance of the Year, as well as emphasizing the ongoing challenge of value-based care.

Hollywood, FL—Value-based decision-making at the bedside can be fraught with obstacles, with no clear agreement on what constitutes value, and for whom. In addition, the myriad insurance plans preclude uniform treatment strategies, despite clinical pathways and guidelines intended to reduce variation in care. Finally, value is becoming more difficult to achieve in oncology as each benefit becomes more expensive, with the cost of new therapies outpacing inflation.