ASCO 2015 Highlights

In the December 2012 issue of Value-Based Cancer Care (VBCC), several Editorial Board members addressed the recent events surrounding the cost of cancer drugs and the reduction of the price of ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap). VBCC continued this discussion with Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO.

San Antonio, TX—In determining the optimal treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), gene expression profiling using the Oncotype DX DCIS Score is more cost-effective than standard clinical assessment, primarily because it avoids radiotherapy for approximately 66% of these patients.

Atlanta, GA—The use of azacitidine (Vidaza) in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is associated with the reduced need for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and transfusion dependence, a report from the 2012 American Society of Hematology meeting showed.

Vienna, Austria—Several studies presented at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress offered a look into what many believe will lead to the application of genome-based biomarker information into clinical use based on the concept of personalized medicine, although not all of the results were unconditionally encouraging.

A recent study compared the benefit of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) with prednisone versus placebo plus prednisone for patients with mCRPC before chemotherapy (Ryan CJ, et al. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:138-148).

Ensuring access to clinical trials to all patients is important not only to ensure equal access to care but also to make sure that clinical trial results can be generalized to all patients in the real-world setting. For the first time, a team of British researchers has recently investigated this question, revealing important implications for healthcare stakeholders (Noor AM, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2012;31:224-230).

Boston, MA—Researchers believe they are closing in on a better way to identify breast cancers that are particularly dangerous and therefore require more aggressive therapy.

For the prevention of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), rivaroxaban (Xarelto) appears to be more cost-effective than warfarin (Coumadin), an independent analysis undertaken by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine showed.

Atlanta, GA—Support for the oral immunomodulatory agent pomalidomide for the treatment of multiple myeloma took a giant step forward when new data from the phase 3 MM-003 trial showed a survival advantage in patients with advanced disease.

Atlanta, GA—Promising preliminary results for oprozomib (ONX 0912), an orally available structural analogue of carfilzomib (Kyprolis), were presented at the 2012 American Society of Hematology meeting.