ASCO 2015 Highlights

According to long-term follow-up data presented at the ASCO 2020 annual meeting, anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has demonstrated ongoing durable remissions lasting up to 113 months for follicular lymphoma, 99 months for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and 97 months for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL).

Since March 2020, Cancer Support Community has broken records for the number of calls coming into its national network, said Elizabeth Franklin, LGSW, ACSW, Executive Director of the Cancer Policy Institute and Co-Chair of the Policy and Advocacy Committee of the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+), in a webinar of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) on COVID-19.

With new cancer diagnoses down by 37% since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and data from IQVIA showing that 22 million people postponed cancer screening tests and 80,000 patients delayed or missed diagnoses, America’s comprehensive cancer centers and integrated delivery networks (IDNs) are anticipating a major “shadow curve” in new cancer cases in the months and year to come.

Cranbury, NJ – Starting October 13, the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) will present its 10th Annual Summit as a 10-week series with approximately 30 WEBside chats. The 10th Association for Value-Based Cancer Care Summit & Education WEBside chats will feature top influencers; future trends; balanced opinions; real-time, real-world information; and unfiltered discussions. Each chat will run for approximately 90 minutes on alternating Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and/or Friday sessions delivered at 8:00 am ET and rebroadcast at 4:30 pm PT.

David DeRemer, PharmD, BCOP, FCCP, FHOPA, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Florida College of Pharmacy, shares insights about cancer drugs and COVID-19 in this interview that followed a segment of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) webinar series COVID-19 Recovery, the Road Ahead, in which he recently took part.

When oncology practices, ranging from small community clinics to larger hospital-based programs, were required to adapt their systems virtually overnight in response to the COVID-19 health crisis, almost no one anticipated that these would be long-term changes. However, as September approaches with no end in sight, it has become clear that oncologists will need to adapt revenue cycle management to long-term pandemic-related changes.

As many full-service hospitals and health systems remain overwhelmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, community cancer providers have been able to offer certain services to patients that may not be available at other institutions. How have these providers adapted to meet patients’ changing needs, and how are they keeping their doors open under unprecedented pressure?

From shuttered laboratory experiments and interrupted clinical trial enrollments to a “shadow curve” of delayed cancer diagnoses, comprehensive cancer centers and integrated delivery networks (IDNs) across the country continue to grapple with the fallout from COVID-19.

One of the most significant questions for payers in the COVID-19 health ecosystem is, “Will reimbursement parity for telehealth services continue?” Leading representatives of major managed care organizations debate the prospects.