ASCO 2015 Highlights

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.

San Francisco, CA—In a population of patients with metastatic breast cancer and Medicare Part D claims, the mean lifetime cost of treatment was approximately $102,000, according to a study presented at the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium by Hope S. Rugo, MD, Director, Breast Oncology Clinical Trials Program, University of California, San Francisco.

San Francisco, CA—Management of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) was the focus of 2 studies highlighted at a press conference before the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium.

San Francisco, CA—At the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium, Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, told oncologists that in the current era of healthcare reform, they will need to think beyond treatment outcomes, toxicities, and personal preferences.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands—The novel ALK/EGFR inhibitor known as AP26113 achieved good responses in reducing brain metastases in patients with crizotinib (Xalkori)-resistant and crizotinib-nave non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as radiographic regression of central nervous system (CNS) metastases.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands—The antibody-conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), also known as T-DM1, prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer in a heavily pretreated population, according to the final results of the phase 3 clinical trial TH3RESA.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands—Although much progress has been made in cancer care over the past couple of decades, a report presented at the 2013 European Cancer Congress emphasizes that on a global scale, the impact is far from equitable.

A team of researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, led by Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD, Professor at Sanford-Burnham’s National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center and Director of the Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program, discovered that they can block the rapid growth of cancerous brain cells by using small-molecule inhibitors.