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The Top 5 Most-Read Oncology Stories of 2020
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Our 5 most-read oncology stories and most-watched videos this year highlighted cancer care policy, diversity, and the growing practice of remote cancer care.
Our 5 most-read oncology stories and most-watched videos this year highlighted cancer care policy, diversity, and the growing practice of remote cancer care. It was a dynamic year from a policy perspective, with delays and accommodations from CMS amid a global pandemic. Here are the top stories in oncology this year.
5. Dr Kerin Adelson on Changes in Care Coordination Precipitated by OCM
The Oncology Care Model (OCM) has impacted the way oncologists practice, said Kerin Adelson, MD, associate professor, chief quality officer, and deputy chief medical officer for Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven/Yale Cancer Center. With the model focused on reducing unnecessary utilization, Adelson said that the resources it provides have enhanced care coordination and led to the formation of novel infrastructure and clinical pathways.
4. Dr Karen Winkfield Discusses Importance of Workforce Diversity in Oncology
Disparities in health care have been highlighted more than ever this year, with the pandemic bringing to light and exacerbating longstanding racial and economic divides in those who receive the care they need. Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, incoming executive director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, spotlighted the need for minority representation in the radiation oncology workforce.
3. How Federal Policy Decisions Are Influencing Cancer Care
The cost of cancer is driven up by novel therapies, with unprecedented progress fostering cancer’s evolvement into a chronic disease. But federal policy decisions are influencing oncologists’ ability to provide the best possible therapies to every patient. Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, MPH, of Texas Oncology, addressed the predicament at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s 2020 Patient-Centered Oncology Care® meeting.
2. Dr Sara Douglas: Distance Caregivers of Patients With Cancer Have Distinct Needs
The high degree of uncertainty associated with providing remote care means that distance caregivers of patients with cancer have unique needs for information and require customized education, explained Sara L. Douglas, PhD, RN, the Gertrude Perkins Oliva Professor in Oncology Nursing and associate dean for research at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
1. Tafasitamab Combination Approved for Adults With R/R DLBCL
Tafasitamab-cxix was approved by the FDA on July 31 this year for use in combination with lenalidomide for second-line treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and the news took the top spot in our list of most-read oncology stories this year. The approval, which was based on phase 2 results for 80 patients in the L-MIND trial, meets the needs of patients not eligible for an autologous stem cell transplant.
