ASCO 2015 Highlights

Hollywood, FL—“Patient assistance is not an option but a very important part of the fabric of our healthcare system,” said Patrick McKercher, RPh, PhD, President of the Patient Access Network Foundation, at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Hollywood, FL—Adherence to medications is critical for effective cancer treatment. Oncologists must understand the reasons for nonadherence and help patients to keep taking their medications, said Lillie D. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Nursing, Baltimore, at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

>Hollywood, FL—Contracting in oncology has become a more complicated process, now that it involves many entities beyond physicians and payers. Dawn G. Holcombe, MBA, Vice President, Strategic Relationships, Florida Cancer Specialists, Sarasota, FL, described the scenario at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Hollywood, FL—“How do different stakeholders define value in oncology? This is a complex question, and definitely a mainstream, though at times controversial, issue,” according to Pamela Morris, Director, Syndicated Research, Zitter Health Insights. Ms Morris discussed the search for value in oncology care, informed by results from the Zitter Group’s research, at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Hollywood, FL—There are perplexing considerations for community oncology practices under sequestration, but adapting to future practice models poses even bigger questions, according to Leonard H. Natelson, Chief Executive Officer of Hematology/Oncology Associates of Rockland, NY.

Niagara Falls, Ontario—Research­ers have determined that 18F-fluoro­deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), a widely available and relatively inexpensive imaging modality, could be used to shape treatment plans for patients who have been diagnosed with high Gleason score prostate cancer.

A new study compared the ability of 3 modalities—the new Breast Cancer Index (BCI) molecular test, the 21-gene recurrence score known as Oncotype DX, and the immunohistochemical (IHC4) prognostic model—to predict early and late disease recurrence in patients with ER-positive, node-negative breast cancer (Sgroi DC, et al. Lancet Oncol. 2013;14:1067-1076).

Lambrolizumab (previously known as MK-3475) is a humanized monoclonal immunoglobulin G4 antibody that blocks the programmed death 1 (PD-1) receptor and reactivates an immune response to the cancer cells.

The cost of cancer care continues to rise, and especially the cost of cancer drugs. Since their introduction in the 1990s, clinical pathways have demonstrated an improvement in the quality of care, while lowering costs in numerous clinical settings.

San Francisco, CA—Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is an important construct for identifying and summarizing the evidence on the effectiveness, safety, and overall value of alternative strategies in oncology care, said Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, Duke University and the Duke Cancer Research Institute, Durham, NC, during the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium.