ASCO 2015 Highlights

San Diego, CA—Preliminary results suggest that an investigational antibody-drug conjugate called DEDN-6526A (Seattle Genetics, Genentech) has activity against melanoma, including cutaneous, mucosal, and ocular melanoma, which is considered difficult to treat. The new drug comes on the heels of trastuzumab emtansine, the first antibody-drug conjugate approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of breast cancer.

Los Angeles, CA—The cost of cancer care is a major cost driver for payers, who are actively engaging in the management of this complex disease state. Payer approaches to cancer care continue to evolve, with new reimbursement methodologies key to maintaining affordability, said Gary M. Owens, MD, President, Gary Owens Associates, Ocean View, DE, and John Fox, MD, MHA, Senior Medical Director and Associate Vice President of Medical Affairs, Priority Health, Grand Rapids, MI, at the Fourth Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

The total annual cost of mammography screening for women aged 40 to 85 years in the United States is estimated to be $7.8 billion, according to a new analysis (O’Donoghue C, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2014;160:145-153). That is $4.3 billion more than the cost would be if mammography intervals were lowered to fall in line with the recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the study researchers calculated.

Value Propositions for May 2014.

The US Food and Drug Admin­istration (FDA) approved ceritinib (Zykadia; Novartis) for the treatment of patients with metastatic, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Ceritinib is an ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor that blocks proteins that promote cancer cell growth. The drug is approved for the treatment of patients with late-stage NSCLC who were previously treated with crizotinib, the first and only other ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved by the FDA.

Defining and improving quality and outcomes in the care of patients with cancer is difficult, so it is interesting that we are now having a dialogue regarding the potential for a two-tiered healthcare system. Can we really define second-class cancer care if we have difficulty grading, measuring, identifying, or even defining first-class cancer care?

San Diego, CA—Preliminary data suggest that a novel agent called AG-221 can induce complete remissions (CRs) in patients with relapsed, refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who harbor mutated IDH2. These exciting results were achieved in patients with an ominous prognosis who have few or no other treatment options. The data were presented at the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting.

Advances in cancer treatment, from detection and diagnosis to drugs, surgical techniques, and new imaging capabilities, have collectively enabled many patients to live longer, healthier lives with or after cancer. However, a new landmark report, “The State of Cancer Care in America, 2014: A Report by the American Society of Clinical Oncology” (ASCO), identifies the many challenges that will impact the future delivery of cancer care (ASCO. J Oncol Pract. 2014;10:119-143). These challenges include an increasing demand for care, predicted workforce shortages, rapidly rising costs, imbalances in access to care, and an unstable practice environment.

San Diego, CA—Palbociclib, an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6, demonstrated “striking” activity when combined with conventional hormone therapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to the results of an open-label phase 2 trial presented at the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

Los Angeles, CA—The Fourth Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care, held May 6-9, 2014, kicked off 4 days of presentations by oncology stakeholders from across the country, including patients, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, payers, healthcare investors, and drug and diagnostics makers.