Surabhi Dangi-Garimella, PhD

Everyone in healthcare is currently grappling with what payment reform will look like in the coming years, and oncology is no exception. Payers, providers, and health policy experts reviewed ongoing changes in the healthcare system and shared their vision on what the future would look like.

Representatives from 3 clinics that successfully participated in the Commission on Cancer accreditation process for the Oncology Medical Home model participated in a panel discussion on the first day of The Community Oncology Conference: Innovation in Cancer Care.

On the first day of The Community Oncology Conference: Innovation in Cancer Care, held in Orlando, Florida, April 13-15, 2016, oncologists discussed how their practices are coping with the transition toward quality- and value-based reimbursement.

The committee voted 12-1 in favor of delaying approval of the drug and waiting on results from the phase 3 study.

A new study published in The Journal of Urology has found that active surveillance in prostate cancer patients who might have a low-grade disease has the possibility of disease progression in only a small number of patients.

An updated recommendation by the US Preventive Services Task Force advises the use of low-dose aspirin in adults 50 to 69 years of age, who have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or colorectal cancer (CRC), are not at an increased risk of bleeding, and have a life expectancy of at least 10 years, for the prevention of CVD and CRC.

The approval comes following the review of a phase 2 single-arm trial in 106 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who carried the 17p deletion mutation and who had received at least 1 prior therapy for their condition.

A prospective longitudinal study that followed terminally ill cancer patients till their death has found that patients of African American origins had a poorer understanding of their survival than the white patients in the study group.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)'s annual conference has traditionally been a platform for NCCN’s Guideline updates. This year's meeting saw much more, with discussions on palliative care, biosimilars, and value in cancer care.

Drug developer Amgen is questioning the assessment of its multiple myeloma treatments at the hands of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review.

Patients with grade 2 glial brain tumors (gliomas) who were treated with radiation therapy (RT) and chemotherapy had a longer progression-free survival and overall survival than those who received RT alone.

In men with low-risk prostate cancer, hypofractionation is non-inferior than the standard treatment dose and has the potential for saving treatment costs, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The FDA has approved infliximab-dyyb as a biosimilar and not as an interchangeable biological.

The study, commissioned by the Community Oncology Alliance, has found that overall costs for Medicare and commercial health plan enrollees have been increasing at the same rate as the cost of treating patients with cancer. This contradicts the popular notion that cancer care costs have far outpaced overall healthcare spending.

A new study by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research has found that visits by trained community health workers improved screening rates for breast cancer among Latino women.

Four panelists and 2 moderators discussed the issues surrounding cancer and healthcare in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election during the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference.

While these "generic" biologicals have been deemed to have the potential to create competition and result in healthcare savings-although not to the extent of generic products-technical issues with manufacturing these products have troubled drug manufacturers.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 21st Annual Conference, Alan P. Venook, MD, professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, provided insight into lessons learned by oncologists in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)'s 21st Annual Conference, Robert Carlson, MD, chief executive officer, NCCN, provided a flavor for their value framework, the Evidence Blocks.

According to IMS Health, increased penetration and acceptance of biosimilars in Europe and in the United States can result in $110 billion in total savings to the 2 healthcare systems.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference, John A. Thompson, MD, presented an update on where the field of melanoma treatment stands today.

During the opening session at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference, healthcare providers came together to discuss palliation from the provider and the patient perspective.

The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence have developed a position statement recommending access to smoking cessation interventions for smokers in the high-risk group who undergo a lung cancer screen.

Pointing out that high drug prices are access barriers, the Congressmen have urged the government agencies to hold a public hearing to address the issue.

A study among terminal cancer patients in Japan found that those with a prognosis of days or weeks survived longer when cared for at home.

Sync for Science-a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, and Harvard Medical School-will allow patients to access their own health data, which they can then share with researchers involved in the initiative.

In a survey conducted by a sales and marketing firm, oncologists, oncology nurses, and oncology administrators have expressed displeasure with the customer experience rendered by oncology manufacturers.

A retrospective research study has identified disparity in the use of the test, primarily driven by race, insurance status, and the type of facility where treatment was administered.

A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that boys who underwent chemotherapy to treat their cancer were less likely to father children.