Clinical

Fifty organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, have expressed their confidence in Robert Califf, MD, to lead the FDA.

After melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, the FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy status to pembrolizumab in advanced colorectal cancer patients with mismatched repair deficiency.

With the expansion, UnitedHealthcare will bring 5 more oncology practices on board to participate in its bundled program, which will grow the program to 650 oncologists across 7 states.

At the Payer Exchange Summit on Oncology Payment Reform, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance, Daniel McKellar, MD, who chairs the Commission on Cancer, insisted on meaningful feedback from the community to ensure adequate transformation of practices into a medical home.

Olaparib, a PARP inhibitor approved for treating BRCA1/2-mutated ovarian cancer, has been found effective in treating men with metastatic, castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

What we're reading, October 29, 2015: Pfizer and Allergan in talks to merge; the House passes a budget deal with implications for Medicare beneficiaries; and autism in children is being overdiagnosed.

The drug significantly delayed recurrence of the cancer in patients treated post surgery.

What we're reading, October 28, 2015: Ben Carson plans to replace the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and Medicare; a homeless shelter utilizes telemedicine to alleviate emergency department visits; and researchers uncover gender gap in post-heart attack treatment.

Payer—provider teams presented updates on their cost-saving pilot projects and looked to the future of these models in oncology care.

Twenty-four states have received grants to improve the behavioral health of their citizens by providing community-based mental and substance use disorder treatment.

The company says the treatment will cost an average of $65,000.

The ASCO statement emphasizes patient-centered reform that weighs-in the value of the services rendered.

What we're reading, October 27, 2015: a much-improved Healthcare.gov website, report says drug prices rose at a much slower rate in 2015, and USPSTF recommends glucose testing in asymptomatic adults who are overweight or obese.

The vaccine, approved in Europe last week, is now awaiting approval in the United States.