Mike Hennessy

News stories coming out of the 7th European Multidisciplinary Meeting on Urological Cancers (EMUC) were focused on the emerging role of immunotherapy and radiotherapy in bladder, renal, and prostate cancer.

The search for biomarkers that can help clinicians match patients with effective therapies continues at a torrid pace in oncology. Yet in the parlance of basketball, not all biomarkers translate into slam dunks when it comes to clinical utility.

The FDA has indicated there are many problems associated with LDTs that clearly warrant a much greater level of oversight to protect the public.

Although there often is controversy over the impact of new cancer drugs on patients’ overall survival, there can be little argument over the broad improvements that have flowed from more than four decades of investment in oncology research.

Site neutrality sounds like something from the Cold War—a zone on a bridge between two ideologically different countries, for instance. In oncology, it’s something completely different.

With a series of recent approvals, the FDA bolstered oncologists’ armamentarium for treating patients with melanoma, soft tissue sarcoma, and pancreatic cancer.

OncLive Chairman, Mike Hennessy

There are many reasons, why we must now move beyond the "one drug-one test" model that has resulted in these diagnostics.

Over the last month or so, the immune checkpoint blockade revolution in oncology has officially hit a fever pitch.

The FDA closed out summer 2015 by taking action on several oncology drug applications, approving new indications and granting several priority reviews.

Although the progress made in the treatment of patients with lung cancer has by now become a familiar story, it certainly bears repeating.

The 340B drug discount program is bigger than any Jurassic Park monster that ever broke out of its cage, and arguably bigger than any California wildfire that ever burned up the Sierras.

Several studies presented at the 2015 ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer offered new promise for patients.

For oncology specialists, caring for patients with cancer has long meant analyzing the biological and clinical pieces of a puzzle unique to each individual and then figuring out the optimal management plan to meet his or her needs.

It has been our privilege to salute those who have contributed so richly to the remarkable ongoing progress in oncology.

With two drugs on the market and more agents in the pipeline, there's little doubt that immunotherapies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway will become a backbone of oncology treatment in the near future, perhaps replacing chemotherapy in some malignancies.

The rise of electronic medical reporting and value-based standards and measures for improved medical care is supported by the best of intentions, but the implication is that physicians now spend more time behind the computer terminal and less time with patients.

Physicians have shown they don't have to be quiet participants in the value argument that is raging in oncologic circles.

One of the most gratifying aspects of working in the oncology information field is the opportunity we have to interact with the scientists and clinicians who are seeking to advance the care of patients with cancer.

Another ASCO annual meeting has come and gone, and now comes the fun part where we digest and interpret the significance of the mountains of new data presented.

In the oncology realm, specialty pharmacy has become a mainstay, but its role in urology practice is starting to trend upwards.

The road to becoming the first biosimilar to go on sale in the United States has been uneven for Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz), a Sandoz product for raising white blood cell counts.

As we embark on this inaugural issue of Contemporary Radiation Oncology, it occurs to me that the launch of every new journal is always made with the best intentions.

Immune checkpoint blockade strategies were a central focus of much of the key data presented at AACR.

During the past five years, the progress in therapeutic options for men with prostate cancer has been truly remarkable.

Competitive pressures and profound marketplace changes are a fact of life for the oncology business, and for a practice in San Antonio, Texas, that handles a large population of rural poor, planning sessions routinely involve discussions on how to stay independent and continue doing things the way physicians there feel is best.

Given the higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer in BRCA mutation carriers, should broader screening for the abnormality be implemented?

The rise of high-deductible health plans has been accelerated by the Affordable Care Act, yet for many oncology practices this trend adds to the administrative workload and creates deep uncertainty on the accounts receivable side.