August 2018, Vol 8, No 8

What are the most noteworthy trends that can affect an oncology practice’s strategic planning, budgeting, and bottom line? The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) partnered with the Advisory Board Company to identify some of those trends in the 2017 Trending Now in Cancer Care Survey. The survey results were presented at the 2018 ACCC Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit. Read More ›

Using a Team Approach to Tackle Opioid Abuse in Patients with Cancer

By Meg Barbor, MPH

Quality Care, Practice Management

Opioids are the mainstay treatment for cancer pain, but managing the opioid crisis in the United States requires an “all hands on deck” approach, according to Tonya Edwards, MS, MSN, FNP-C, Nurse Practitioner, Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Read More ›

CLL11 Study: 5-Year Results Confirm Obinutuzumab plus Chemotherapy as Front-Line Therapy for Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

By Walter Alexander

2018 EHA Congress Highlights

By Walter Alexander

2018 EHA Congress Highlights

Once-weekly carfilzomib (Kyprolis) therapy at a higher dose significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and reduced the risk of disease progression or death compared with twice-weekly carfilzomib in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The overall safety profile for both regimens in the randomized phase 3 ARROW clinical trial were similar, said co-lead investigator María-Victoria Mateos, MD, PhD, Director, Myeloma Unit, University Hospital Salamanca-IBSAL, Spain, at the 2018 European Hematology Association Congress. Read More ›

Next-Generation Sequencing More Cost-Effective Than Single-Gene Testing

By Phoebe Starr

Genomic Testing

Genomic testing is now the standard of care for patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The 4 identified genomic mutations that are targetable with FDA-approved therapies include EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and BRAF, and other NSCLC-associated genetic mutations are targetable with therapies currently being investigated in clinical trials. More genetic mutations are linked to NSCLC, but there is currently no accepted standard for genomic testing in NSCLC, or the optimal timing of such tests. Read More ›

IMPACT: Matching Treatment and Molecular Testing Extends Survival in Advanced Cancer

By Wayne Kuznar

Genomic Testing

A new retrospective analysis presented at ASCO 2018 lends support to precision medicine in cancer. In the Initiative for Molecular Profiling and Advanced Cancer Therapy (IMPACT) clinical trial, selecting a targeted therapy based on patients’ tumor molecular analyses independently predicted longer overall survival (OS) compared with nonmatched therapy across a diverse set of advanced tumor types. Read More ›

Best Practices: Use of Biomarkers in the Treatment of Patients with Lung Cancer

By Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD; David L. Rimm, MD, PhD

2018 ASCO Highlights, Biomarkers, Interview with the Innovators

At ASCO 2018, Oncology Practice Management (OPM) spoke with Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology and Associate Director for Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT, and David L. Rimm, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, about the increasing role of biomarkers in the management of patients with lung cancer. Read More ›

Kymriah Approved for Adults with Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma

FDA Approvals, News & Updates