$1.5 Trillion Tax Plan Heads to White House for Signature
December 21st 2017The consolidated tax bill that now goes to President Trump’s desk for a signature carries with it dire warnings from oncology interest groups that access to care will suffer under the federal spending cutbacks that are expected to result.
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No Difference in Overall Survival with Shorter Extended AI Therapy
December 7th 2017Investigators with the Austria Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group announced today that years can safely be shaved off anastrozole (Arimidex) treatment without affecting disease-free survival postmenopausal HR-positive breast cancer.
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Trastuzumab Disappoints in HER2-low Patient Cohort
December 6th 2017A trial to determine the value of trastuzumab plus standard adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with low levels of HER2 protein has shown no significant efficacy, confounding investigators who launched the trial based on opposing results from 2 earlier studies.
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CMS Reins in Spending Under 340B, Garnering Praise, Criticism
November 2nd 2017A newly announced CMS policy to redistribute savings under the 340B Drug Discount Program so that Medicare beneficiaries save money on copayments has garnered a mixture of praise and criticism from supporters and critics of the program.
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FISHing for a Better Assay in ALK-Positive Lung Cancer
October 16th 2017In addition to proving the superiority of alectinib versus crizotinib, the phase III ALEX trial provided clear guidance on which of 2 assays evaluated could provide stronger guidance on which patients would respond to ALK-specific therapy.
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IASLC Conference Will Highlight PACIFIC Trial QoL Data on Durvalumab
October 14th 2017Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, provides highlights of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer, leading with his excitement for updated quality-of-life data from the PACIFIC trial of patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer.
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Novartis Sets a Price of $475,000 for CAR T-Cell Therapy
August 31st 2017Novartis’ just-approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel is going to be introduced on the market at a price of $475,000 for a single infusion, an amount that is within the range anticipated by oncologists.
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Speculation Mounts About Price Tag for Emerging CAR Therapies
August 17th 2017Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies could spawn a new and lucrative industry in anticancer immunotherapy, resulting in single-infusion treatments costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even attracting medical tourism from abroad, where regulatory permissions are likely to come more slowly than in the United States.
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ASCO Says Senate Healthcare Bill Is a Disappointment
June 22nd 2017Senate Republicans have introduced a healthcare bill that would revise many of the changes imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, cutting federal support for Medicaid and repealing the individual and employer mandates for having and providing insurance.
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ASCO Partners With FDA to Incorporate Real-World Evidence Into Drug Decisions
June 9th 2017In recognition of the potential for real-world evidence to significantly improve the way patients with cancer are treated, CancerLinQ has formed new partnerships with the US government that are expected to coordinate the sharing of patient data and incorporate that information into the FDA regulatory process.
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