Search Results
Your search for The ASCO Post matches 1136 pages
Showing 451 - 500
Julie Bryar Porter, MS, on Improving Care: One Center’s Experience
Julie Bryar Porter, MS, of Stanford Health Care, discusses an approach to improving patient care with physician-led quality measures from diagnosis through end of life implemented at her academic cancer center (Abstract 49).
Blase N. Polite, MD, MPP: The Oncology Care Model in Academia
Blase N. Polite, MD, MPP, of the University of Chicago, discusses implementing the Oncology Care Model in an academic health center and the challenges of getting buy-in from faculty members.
Robert S. Miller, MD, on CancerLinQ: Big Data and Clinical Effectiveness
Robert S. Miller, MD, of ASCO, updates the progress of CancerLinQ and its data set, now being used by oncologists to track quality measurement and reporting.
Greg D. Judy, MD, on Safety Incidents in Radiotherapy
Greg D. Judy, MD, of UNC Health Care, discusses the contributing factors, and possible fixes, for near-miss and actual safety incidents in patients being treated with radiotherapy.
Diana D. Jeffery, PhD, on Mental Health Comorbidities: Predictors of Cost and Utilization
Diana D. Jeffery, PhD, of the Defense Health Agency, discusses the need to screen for mental health comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, substance use disorders, and persistent mental illnesses, as shown in a study of breast and prostate cancer patients (Abstract 18).
John V. Cox, DO, MBA, on 2017 Quality Care Symposium Highlights: Expert Perspective
John V. Cox, DO, MBA, of the Parkland Health System/UTSW, discusses some of the key presentations at the 2017 Quality Care Symposium (Abstracts 3, 37, 52).
Patients With Cancer History More Likely to Change Prescriptions to Save Money
A new study led by American Cancer Society investigators found that cancer survivors are more likely to change their prescription drug use for financial reasons than those without a cancer history. These findings were published by Zheng et al in Cancer. The rising cost of cancer drugs imposes a...
ASCO Quality Care 2017: Study Examines Cancer Center Websites’ Information on Breast Cancer Treatment, Outcomes
As an increasing number of patients look to the internet for cancer information, researchers from the University of Alabama found that the websites of many National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers lack sufficient information to help patients with breast cancer understand all their...
ASCO Quality Care 2017: In-House Specialty Pharmacy at Cancer Center Improves Quality of Care, Reduces Medical Errors
An influx of new oral cancer drugs provides patients with a more convenient and less invasive way to take medication, but such treatments are often associated with adherence challenges and medical errors. New research shows that the addition of an in-house specialty pharmacy at a cancer center in...
Lawrence Fong, MD, on Novel T-Cell Checkpoint Combinations
Lawrence Fong, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses combination immunotherapy, now approved in melanoma, and the trials underway to explore other indications.
Elizabeth Ann Mittendorf, MD, PhD, on ASCO-SITC Meeting Highlights: Expert Perspective
Elizabeth Ann Mittendorf, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses some of the top papers presented at the ASCO-SITC Symposium and how these presentations will affect clinical practice.
Researchers Use Cardiomyocytes to Create Index of Cardiotoxicity of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine used heart muscle cells made from stem cells to rank commonly used chemotherapy drugs based on their likelihood of causing lasting heart damage in patients. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors can be an effective treatment for many types of cancers, ...
Payers Weigh the Implications of Multigene Testing Coverage
Innovation in precision medicine has introduced an amalgam of testing options, of which hereditary cancer panels—multigene tests—are a major component. Additionally, the importance of inherited cancer genomics was further bolstered by former President Barack Obama’s Precision...
Brian C. Allen, MD, on Assessing Tumor Response: Standard-of-Care vs Computer-Assisted Evaluation
Brian C. Allen, MD, of Duke University Medical Center, discusses the benefits of using a computerized process that provides step-wise guidance, decreases interpretation time, and reduces errors when measuring tumor response to treatment. (Abstract 432)
Children, Parents Overreport Leukemia Treatment Adherence
New research suggests that young patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and their parents are likely to report to their physician that they took more of their anticancer medication than they actually did. The study, published by Landier et al in Blood, found that 84% of patients with ALL...
ASH/AACR/AACI/ASTRO/ASPHO/Lungevity Foundation Statement on Administration's Executive Order
Today, the American Society of Hematology, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and the LUNGevity Foundation issued a statement on the...
Immunotherapy 2.0 Named Advance of the Year in ASCO's Report
A growing number of patients with cancer are benefiting from research advances in immunotherapy, leading ASCO to name immunotherapy as the Society's Advance of the Year for a second year in a row. Released today, Clinical Cancer Advances 2017: ASCO's Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer...
Institute for Clinical Immuno-Oncology White Paper Highlights the Challenges, Progress, and Priorities in Immunotherapy
While momentum around immunotherapies for cancer continues to build, the high cost of these therapies places them at the center of debate about how best to define and measure value in cancer care. As these therapies are increasingly integrated into practice, all stakeholders—providers,...
Fear of Diagnostic Low-Dose Radiation Exposure May Be Overstated, Experts Assert
In an article published by Siegel et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers assert that exposure to medical radiation does not increase a person’s risk of getting cancer. The long-held belief that even low doses of radiation, such as those received in diagnostic imaging, increase...
ASCO Releases Principles for Patient-Centered Health-Care Reform
ASCO has released the “ASCO Principles for Patient-Centered Health-care Reform,” seven recommendations designed to ensure access to high-quality cancer care amid the changing U.S. health-care delivery landscape. The principles aim to assist the new Congress and Administration, so, as...
Has the Affordable Care Act Reduced Socioeconomic Disparities in Cancer Screening?
Out-of-pocket expenditures are thought to be a significant barrier to receiving cancer preventive services, especially for individuals of lower socioeconomic status. A new study published by Cooper et al in Cancer looked at how the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which eliminated such out-of-pocket...
NCI-Designated Cancer Centers Issue Statement in Support of New CDC Recommendations on HPV Vaccination
The 69 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers have issued a joint statement in support of recently revised recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve national vaccination rates for human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the CDC,...
Cancer Death Rate Has Dropped 25% Since 1991 Peak, According to American Cancer Society Report
A steady decline over more than 2 decades has resulted in a 25% drop in the overall cancer death rate in the United States. The drop equates to 2.1 million fewer cancer deaths between 1991 and 2014. The news comes from "Cancer Statistics, 2017," the American Cancer Society’s...
ACCC 2016 Survey Finds Cancer Drug Costs Remain the Most Critical Challenge to Care
As more cost pressures are placed on the health-care system, and the transition to value-based care gains momentum, the Association of Community Cancer Centers’ (ACCC) 7th annual Trends in Cancer Programs survey revealed critical challenges and emerging trends in U.S. cancer programs. The...
Preclinical Study Potentially Explains Vulnerability of Young Patients With Cancer to Treatment Toxicities
Despite many successes in treating pediatric cancer, young children remain at high risk for developing severe, long-lasting impairments in their brain, heart, and other vital organs from chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In adults, however, these tissues are relatively spared. This disparity, ...
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells May Enable Tumor Cells to Circumvent Immune Attack, Improving Immunotherapy
One of the main reasons cancer remains difficult to treat is that cancer cells have developed a multitude of mechanisms that allow them to evade destruction by the immune system. One of these escape mechanisms involves a type of immune cell called myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). A recent...
ESMO Asia 2016: Depressed Patients May Be Less Responsive to Chemotherapy
A brain-boosting protein plays an important role in how well people respond to chemotherapy, researchers reported at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore. A study (Abstract 497O_PR) found that patients with cancer suffering from depression have decreased amounts of brain-derived neurotrophic...
ESMO Asia 2016: Almost 20% of Swedish Breast Cancer Patients Fail to Complete Prescribed Endocrine Therapy
Around 20% of patients with breast cancer in Sweden do not complete endocrine therapy, according to research that will be reported at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress (Abstract 62O_PR), to be held December 16–19 in Singapore.The study in over 5,500 women found that younger patients and those who...
ESMO Asia 2016: Patients in India Wait an Average of 4 Months Before Seeking a Cancer Diagnosis
Patients in Chandigarh, India, waited an average of 4 months before seeking a cancer diagnosis, according to a recent study. Some patients waited less than a week before seeing a doctor—while others waited 3 years. The researchers will report their findings at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress ...
Jennifer K. Litton, MD, and Ann H. Partridge, MD, on Breast Cancer in Young Women
Jennifer K. Litton, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Ann H. Partridge, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuss a range of issues for young women with breast cancer, including epidemiologic and biologic differences in younger patients, fertility issues, and pregnancy-associated breast...
Marie Bleakley, MD, PhD, on GVHD: Reducing Rates and Increasing Survival
Marie Bleakley, MD, PhD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses data on using naive T-cell depletion of peripheral blood stem cells, which led to very low rates of chronic graft-vs-host-disease and high survival (Abstract 668).
ASH 2016: Study Shows Patients Traditionally Ineligible for Studies May Benefit From Trial Participation
Patients who potentially could benefit most from participation in clinical trials due to poor prognoses often are not included based on eligibility criteria, such as existing medical illnesses. A novel study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center revealed some patients with acute...
Psychotropic and Opioid Medication Use in Older Patients With Breast Cancer Across the Care Trajectory
A new McGill University study published by Syrowatka et al in JNCCN – Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that most patients with breast cancer aged 65 and older use psychotropic and opioid medications during active treatment, often in the first year of...
Having a Child With Cancer May Adversely Affect Parents’ Income and Employment
Having a child with cancer led to income reductions for parents and job discontinuation among mothers in a recent study, even after adjusting for prediagnosis sociodemographic factors. Published by Norberg et al in Cancer, the findings indicate that childhood cancer affects parents' income and...
ASCO Releases Criteria for High-Quality Clinical Pathways in Oncology
ASCO today released Criteria for High-Quality Clinical Pathways in Oncology, a set of 15 inter-related criteria that provide an overarching framework for assessing pathway programs in the United States. ASCO developed the criteria to guide stakeholders in assessing the quality, utility, and...
NCCN Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria Published for 15 Additional Guidelines
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-approved provider-led entity for imaging appropriate use criteria, continues to build its library of these standards and has published NCCN Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria™ for an ...
AMA Statement on Opening Day Court Case Against Anthem-Cigna Deal
Andrew W. Gurman, MD, President of the American Medical Association (AMA), issued the following statement on November 21: “The nation’s slide toward health insurance monopolies will be contested in federal court today as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a bipartisan group of...
NCCN Challenges Medical Community to ‘Just Bag It’ to Eradicate Deadly Medical Error
As part of its mission to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has announced the launch of Just Bag It: The NCCN Campaign for Safe Vincristine...
Gold Nanoparticle Radiopharmaceuticals for the Selective Treatment of Telomerase-Positive Tumors
Tagging gold nanoparticles with a small dose of radiation has helped researchers trace the precious metal as it delivers a drug right into the heart of cancer cells, according to new laboratory research presented by Bavelaar et al at the 2016 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer...
Multiple Genetic Mutational Signatures Associated With Smoking
Scientists have measured the genetic damage caused by smoking in different organs of the body and identified several different mechanisms by which tobacco smoking causes mutations in DNA. Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and their collaborators ...
Distress Screening in Oncology Leads to Better Doctor-Patient Relationships and Improved Outcomes
As many as 60% of patients with cancer report distress following a cancer diagnosis, and this stress can have a significant impact on patients’ well-being, resulting in psychosocial problems, physical side effects, and dissatisfaction with their health care. To examine the impact of distress ...
Prolonged Length of Stays, Readmissions, and Discharge to Care Facilities Among Postoperative Patients With Advanced Cancer
Patients with disseminated advanced cancer who undergo surgery are far more likely to endure long hospital stays and readmissions, referrals to extended care facilities, and death, University of California (UC) Davis researchers have found. Their study, published by Bateni et al in PLOS One,...
CancerLinQ™ Platform Hits Milestone of Having More Than 1 Million Patient Records in System
CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly-owned nonprofit of ASCO, announced on October 20, 2016, that more than 1 million patient records are now in the CancerLinQ™ platform. In addition, 70 practices have signed agreements to participate in CancerLinQ, representing more than 1,500 oncologists. “We...
Adding Health Navigation Assistance to Community Helpline Connected More People to Cancer Control Measures
A partnership that added health navigation services to 2-1-1 call centers helped a significant number of underserved Texans receive cancer control measures such as Papanicolaou (Pap) tests and smoking cessation help, according to a study (PR12, C49) presented at the 9th Association for Cancer...
Affordable Care Act Increased Access to Cancer Care and Clinical Trial Participation Among Hispanics
Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in California may have led to a significant increase in the number of Hispanic breast cancer patients at a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center and an increase in the number of Hispanic women who consented to participate in a...
COA Releases 2016 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) released the 2016 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report today, which tracks the changing landscape of cancer care in the United States. It documents a 121% increase in community cancer clinic closings and a 172% increase in consolidation into hospitals...
ASTRO 2016: Intervention Closes Racial Gap and Improves Treatment Rates for Early-Stage Lung Cancer
Enhanced, culturally competent communication with early-stage lung cancer patients can narrow racial gaps in curative treatment completion and increase treatment rates for all races, according to research presented by Manning et al at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation...
ASTRO 2016: Unmet Need for Radiation Therapy Found Among Nearly Half of Eligible Cancer Patients in Nine Developing Countries
Although approximately 50% of cancer patients in developing countries need radiation therapy to treat their disease, up to half of these patients do not have access to it, according to research presented by Rosenblatt et al at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
Louis Harrison, MD, on Radiation Oncology and the Future of Health Care
Louis B. Harrison, MD, of the Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses radiation oncology in the context of personalized medicine, multidisciplinary care, new technology and applications, and the mandate to contain costs.
Lia M. Halasz, MD, on Disparities in Radiotherapy Delivery 126
Lia M. Halasz, MD, of the University of Washington Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, summarizes a session on the uneven delivery of radiotherapy in the United States and around the world. (Scientific Session 10)
