In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lee et al determined risk levels for interval invasive second breast cancers after negative surveillance mammography and identified factors associated with higher risk. 

The use of oral chemotherapy drugs is becoming more and more prevalent—for many types and stages of cancer, during different treatment phases, and for varying lengths of time. So it’s vital that physicians, nurses, and advanced practitioners understand all the potential adverse events of these drugs and have monitoring and treatment plans in place to handle them when they arise. 

The rising cost of anticancer drugs not only adds fiscal pressure to our overburdened health-care system, but also increases the stress on patients with cancer and their families. High out-of-pocket spending may cause significant financial toxicity, even for patients with good health insurance coverage. In an effort to lower the costs of certain cancer drugs, states have enacted so-called parity laws. The ASCO Post recently discussed this important issue and related topics with policy expert Stacie B. Dusetzina, PhD, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville. 

In a dose-finding, dose-expansion phase Ib trial (JAVELIN Renal 100) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues determined the maximum tolerated dose of the immune checkpoint inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) in combination with the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor axitinib (Inlyta) and found high activity of the combination in the first-line treatment of resected advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma.¹