Erin M. Burns, PhD, MSPH

For those in the community setting, several barriers to clinical research prevent advanced care providers and their patients from taking part in experimental therapies.

Pharmacists can play a role in the drug reimbursement process for oncology products, which are among the most expensive of all pharmaceuticals.

In January, America’s Health Insurance Plans in collaboration with payers representing 60 million covered individuals launched the Fast Prior Authorization Technology Highway to improve the prior authorization process.

The paradigm for treating patients with HER2-positive breast cancer is changing throughout the spectrum of the disease as a result of recent clinical trial findings regarding novel and established treatment regimens, according to Sara A. Hurvitz, MD

Recent studies have demonstrated that somatic mutations of ATM denote greater response to radiation therapy and that gene patterns may help predict the timing of recurrence following radiation.

A new generation of more selective inhibitors of CDK4 and CDK6 has entered the clinic in combination therapies for patients with breast cancer. These agents also are being investigated in patients with KRAS-mutant malignancies.

EZH2 have been frequently observed in cancer, and small molecule inhibitors have been developed against the enzymatic activity of EZH2, with evidence of clinical activity in early-phase trials.

The recent approval of 2 immunotherapies for the treatment of certain patients with tumors that exhibit microsatellite instability has propelled the emerging biomarker into clinical practice, prompting calls for broader genetic testing.