August 2011, Vol 2, No 5

As we move forward in the scheme of healthcare reform, we are being directed toward an integrated care model, one with high quality and economic efficiency. Recently, a model known as an accountable care organization (ACO) was introduced by the US Department of Health and Human Services in the form of a proposed rule open for public comment.

Chicago, IL—Nearly 2% of patients with cancermay file for personal bankruptcy 5 years after their diagnosis, according to researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who presented their data at the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

Upper GI Malignancies” was a plenary session at ASCO 2011, with 2 experts discussing whether results of recent clinical trials of targeted agents are clinically meaningful or just statistically positive, and what is the value of the enormous amount of money spent in treating noncolorectal gastrointestinal (GI) cancer.

Interview with Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, Professor of Medicine and Associate Director for Clinical Investigations, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

An analysis of payer and provider responses to key clinical information presented at the ASCO 2011 annual meeting offers a glimpse of the oncology landscape shared by oncologists and health plans.