ASCO 2015 Highlights

San Francisco, CA—Knowledge of pharmacogenomics—the genomic factors contributing to individual variability in response to drug therapy (or personalized medicine)—enhances the ability to diagnose, prevent, and treat disease, especially a variety of cancers.

Houston, TX—“The key question on everyone’s mind is, how do we monetize the value of pathways?” said Peter G. Ellis, MD, Deputy Director of Clinical Services and Associate Chief Medical Officer, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Centers, PA, at the Second Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Houston, TX—Hard times are getting even tougher for small oncology practices, said Leonard Natelson, Chief Executive Officer, Hematology/Oncology Associates, Rockland, NY, at the Second Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Houston, TX—Payer-sponsored programs that promote appropriate end-of-life care are beneficial to all stakeholders, according to Ira M. Klein, MD, MBA, Chief of Staff to the Chief Medical Officer, Aetna Oncology Strategy.

Houston, TX—“Collaboration, coordination, data, and innovation are key to achieving value-based cancer care,” said Loreen M. Brown, MSW, Vice President of Reimbursement and Access Consulting, Xcenda, AmerisourceBergen Consulting Services.

Houston, TX—There is no question that evidence-based guidelines and pathways are critical to the success of value-based oncology, but not all stakeholders have an equal voice, said Craig Deligdish, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Oncology Resource Networks of America at the Second Annual Meeting of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Chicago, IL—Adverse events (AEs) related to chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer create a substantial economic burden that is primarily explained by increased inpatient, outpatient, and pharmacy costs, said lead investigator Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, Director of the Oncology Breast Can cer Program at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA School of Medicine, who presented an economic analysis at the 2012 Ameri can Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.

Tivozanib, a potent investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor with a long half-life, demonstrated significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) as first-line targeted therapy for metastatic renal-cell carcinoma (RCC), according to results from a phase 3 randomized, open-label trial.

Chicago, IL—Researchers from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill reported at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting that endocrine therapy is substantially underutilized among the low-income breast cancer population.

Chicago, IL—Improved cancer screening can save lives, and despite the high cost of implementing such a measure, it was found cost-effective and therefore valuable in a recent analysis using quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), said Michael S. Broder, MD, President of Partnership for Health Analytic Research, LLC (PHAR), CA, and colleagues, at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.