ASCO 2015 Highlights

Chicago, IL—The oncology community has taken a leadership role in payment reform and must retain that position as the pressure mounts for fee-for-service (FFS) alternatives, according to Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, Director, Health Care Innovation and Value Initiative, Brookings In­stitution, Washington, DC, and former Commissioner of the FDA.

Chicago, IL—Comparative effectiveness research (CER) and cost-effectiveness analyses have helped to define value as it relates to gynecologic oncology, said speakers during an education session on maximizing value and quality in gynecologic cancer care, at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.

The high cost of cancer care follows patients well into survivorship, as annual medical costs and losses in productivity exceed those of people without cancer by 50% to 100%, a study for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed (Ekwueme DU, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014;63:505-510).

Tampa, FL—Patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer consume 2.5 times more financial resources in their last 6 months of life, according to study results presented at the 2014 Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy meeting.

Toronto, Ontario—New laser-based imaging technology differentiates malignant melanoma from other cancerous and benign skin lesions, according to a preliminary study presented at the 2014 Canadian Dermatology Association annual conference.

Los Angeles, CA—Predictive testing offers greater value over prognostic testing to most stakeholders in cancer care, because it has a direct impact on disease treatment rather than simply predicting the course of the disease (which is, ironically, the role of prognostic testing), said S. Macey Johnson III, MBA, Vice President, Managed Care and Reimbursement, bioTheranostics, San Diego, CA, at the Fourth Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Predictive multiplex genomic (or genetic) testing may revolutionize the treatment of cancer by identifying targetable mutations in cancer genes for their individual patients. Although genetic testing is commercially available, its use in clinical practice has not been fully investigated.