February 2019

Worldwide, more than half a million new cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are diagnosed annually. The incidence of HCC in the United States is rising with an estimated 31,000 new cases in 2018. Disease prognosis remains poor, with a 5-year survival rate across all disease stages estimated between 10%-20%, and 3% for those diagnosed with distant disease. Although morbidity is significant, especially among patients with advanced-stage disease, limited information exists on the humanistic and economic burden of HCC.

AJMC®TV interviews let you catch up on what’s new and important about changes in healthcare, with insights from key decision makers—from the clinician, to the health plan leader, to the regulator. When every minute in your day matters, AJMC®TV interviews keep you informed. Access the video clips at ajmc.com/interviews.

Andrew Pecora, MD, FACP, CPE, recently visited Evidence-Based OncologyTM to discuss the progress of COTA’s, a company created in 2011 to develop technology that Pecora said is poised to transform cancer care delivery by helping oncologists and other specialists make decisions that will yield the best outcomes in the most cost-effective way, all at the point of care.

Evidence-Based OncologyTM recently sat down with Rodabe Amaria, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, at MD Anderson and a lead author on a study that found that evidence has been accumulating in preclinical models that neoadjuvant treatment may be superior to treatment after surgery for patients with advanced melanoma.

Immunotherapy has seen great success in the treatment of numerous cancers, from melanoma to lung, breast, colorectal, kidney, and even some brain cancers. But thus far, despite several attempts, the devastating brain disease glioblastoma has not been among the immunotherapy success stories. In fact, glioblastoma researchers have had few advances in more than a decade.

From her vantage point at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Janice Mehnert, MD, has had a front-row seat to the immuno-oncology revolution. Mehnert returned to her alma mater in 2007, and since 2014, she has headed Rutgers’ Phase I/ Developmental Therapeutics Program; she is also head of the melanoma research team. Her work on the KEYNOTE-028 trial has produced important results in multiple cancers, including neuroendocrine tumors, thyroid cancer, small cell lung cancer, and, recently, advanced ovarian cancer.