Aakash Desai, MPH, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, talks about the urgent need for drug pricing reform, given the average expenditure of Medicare part D, and the ultimate out-of-pocket costs for patients with cancer. The promise of precision oncology will fail, says Dr. Desai, if we ...
Tina Shih, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the rising cost-sharing requirement from private insurance, which has worsened the financial burden for patients with cancer. She believes that cost-containment policies alone may not be enough to ease this hardship.
Veena Shankaran, MD, of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses study findings from a national sample of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who are on systemic therapy. A year into their treatment, nearly three out of four patients had major financial hardships despite access to health...
Allen S. Lichter, MD, of the Value in Cancer Care Consortium, interviews Clifford A. Hudis, MD, Chief Executive Officer of ASCO, on the question of whether cancer drug prices in the United States are the problem, or just the symptom, of a larger systemic issue.
Mark J. Ratain, MD, of the University of Chicago, and Daniel Goldstein, MD, of the Rabin Medical Center, discuss the challenges of achieving cancer care value, evolution of the “more-is-better” philosophy when it comes to oncology drugs, and highlights of the First International Summit on...
R. Donald Harvey, PharmD, BCOP, FCCP, FHOPA, of Emory University, discusses the ways in which clinical pharmacology can help yield cost savings without sacrificing efficacy by, for example, altering regimens to extend drug supplies, lowering doses, dosing less frequently, or shortening the duration ...
Blase N. Polite, MD, MPP, of the University of Chicago Medical Center, discusses his belief that, in the next few years, we can bend the cancer drug cost curve and tame health-care costs if physicians, pharmaceutical companies, payers, and government come together and agree on the value of...
Ryan Huey, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses his findings that showed the large financial burden on lower-income patients enrolled in phase I trials (Abstract 8).
Bernardo H. L. Goulart, MD, of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses his findings that high out-of-pocket costs for oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors may lower survival rates, shorten the duration of therapy, and reduce the number of prescriptions for patients with metastatic EGFR- or ALK-positive...
Linda D. Bosserman, MD, of City of Hope, discusses guidelines vs pathways, how to personalize pathways, integrated diagnostics, supportive care regimens, and financial guidance for patients with cancer.
The results of an economic modeling study to estimate the cost-effectiveness of multigene panel sequencing as compared to standard-of-care single-gene tests for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed that multigene panel sequencing tests are moderately...
Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that will require direct-to-consumer television advertisements for prescription pharmaceuticals covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price—the ...
A new study suggests that Oncotype DX–guided treatment could reduce the cost for the first year of breast cancer care in the United States by about $50 million (about 2% of the overall costs in the first year). These findings were published by Mariotto et al in the Journal of the...
A new study reveals that preventive medications—such as those to lower blood pressure or cholesterol, or to protect bone health, among others—are commonly prescribed during the last year of life of older adults with cancer, even though they are unlikely to provide meaningful benefits....
New research published by Dinan et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network provides evidence that genomic recurrence score testing using the 21-gene assay is associated with decreased cancer care costs in real-world practice among certain patients with breast...
Karim Fizazi, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy, urges governments, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies to work together in order to find a way to make anticancer drugs affordable and accessible for all patients.
A qualitative study yielded nine patient-driven recommendations across circumstances that include changes to insurance, supportive services, and financial assistance to reduce long-term, breast cancer–related economic burden. The study was published by Dean et al in Cancer. Unique...
New research published by Chopra et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network calls for much greater integration between cardiologists and oncologists for patients with coronary artery disease who are diagnosed with cancer. Coronary artery disease is the most...
A new report published by Wang et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that using Oncotype DX—the most commonly used test for predicting the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy to reduce the risk of disease recurrence—is not...
New research indicates that cancer survivors carry greater financial burdens related to medical debt payments and bills compared with individuals without a cancer history, with the greatest hardships in younger survivors. Published by Zheng et al in Cancer, the study also found that among...
A new report commissioned by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and published by the IQVIA Institute demonstrates that the 7-year market exclusivity granted to drugs designated under the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 for rare diseases is working as intended. In nearly every case, orphan...
Mary K. Buss, MD, MPH, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Candice A. Johnstone, MD, MPH, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, discuss a session they co-chaired on the perspective of stakeholders on the cost of cancer care, what drives patients’ preferences when faced with mounting medical ...
The costs to treat blood cancer are higher than costs for other cancers, and the costs incurred by a patient diagnosed with a blood cancer do not return to precancer levels, according to a Milliman study commissioned by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). The study—The...
Nearly 4 in 10 Americans believe cancer can be cured solely through alternative therapies, according to ASCO's second annual National Cancer Opinion Survey. This is despite research showing that patients who use alternative therapies instead of standard cancer treatments have much higher...
Some European countries take more than twice as long as others to reach health technology assessment (HTA) decisions to reimburse new cancer treatments following their approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The average decision time is longer than 1 year in some countries, according to a...
Aaron Lyss, MBA, of Tennessee Oncology, discusses ways that clinicians and patients can employ the most cost- and treatment-effective measures, clinical trials, and incident learning systems.
Douglas W. Blayney, MD, of Stanford University, and winner of the Joseph V. Simone Award for Excellence, summarizes his talk on the expense of cancer care and how we can reduce costs while maintaining safety and high value for people with cancer.
Findings from a new study reveal that while many women with breast cancer experience significant financial burden and most prefer to discuss the cost of their cancer care before beginning treatment, few are having conversations about treatment costs with their cancer care teams. These findings will ...
A new nationwide analysis of more than 1,000 people living with metastatic breast cancer from 41 states reveals significant cancer-related financial burden known as financial toxicity, particularly for uninsured patients. The study will be presented by Wheeler et al at the upcoming 2018 ASCO...
Although national guidelines recommend against prostate cancer screening in men age 70 and older, researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center estimate that screening for and treating prostate cancer in men in this age group costs Medicare more than ...
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has released an evidence report assessing the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of antiandrogen therapies for the treatment of nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The report focuses on three antiandrogen...
Critics of health-care consolidation have cited higher costs of chemotherapy administration as an example of how mergers drive up costs. A new study by Kalidindi et al in The American Journal of Managed Care found that although drug administration costs in hospitals are higher,...
When it comes to how much end-of-life care a patient with cancer receives, geography may, indeed, be destiny, according to new research led by Harvard Medical School that found differences in this type of cancer care across different parts of the country. The findings, published by Keating et al...
Allen S. Lichter, MD, Board Chair of the Value in Cancer Care Consortium, and Mark J. Ratain, MD, of the University of Chicago, discuss the benefits—and challenges—of lowering dosages in the face of market forces. The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical...
Building on the efficacy of colorectal cancer screening, the American Medical Association (AMA) endorsed a plan at its Annual Meeting to work with physicians and payers to make the screening more available and affordable. Challenges with insurance coverage remain a barrier to colorectal cancer...
An analysis of health claims data from two demographically similar regions on either side of the U.S./Canada border shows that a common treatment for advanced colorectal cancer costs twice as much in Western Washington State than in British Columbia—$12,345 vs $6,195 monthly per patient....
A new study published by Banegas et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has found that cancer care costs in the United States are higher for people under age 65—and that costs increase with disease stage. Despite the fact that nearly half of new cancer...
Peter Bach, MD, MAPP, Director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, speaks during Panel 4: Drug Development and the Cost of Researching and Treating Cancer at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and...
Amy Kapczynski, JD, Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Global Health Justice Partnership, Yale Law School, speaks during Panel 4: Drug Development and the Cost of Researching and Treating Cancer at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy ...
Jeffrey Schwartz, MBA, Managing Director, Bain Capital Life Sciences, speaks during Panel 4: Drug Development and the Cost of Researching and Treating Cancer at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, in collaboration...
Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Global Development & Medical Affairs, Eli Lilly, speaks during Panel 4: Drug Development and the Cost of Researching and Treating Cancer at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale...
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) 8th annual Trending Now in Cancer Care survey, conducted in partnership with Advisory Board’s Oncology Roundtable, has identified current and emerging trends across U.S. cancer programs. When asked to identify the top threats to future cancer ...
Alok A. Khorana, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses the prevalence of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients treated at U. S. emergency departments and associated costs, mortality, and hospital admissions in the United States (Abstract 219).
Today, ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, released the following statement: “A report released today by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine underscores the imperative our nation faces to address the affordability of drugs for medical conditions that have...
With cancer care costs projected to increase 32% from 2010 to 2020, researchers are working to determine the main drivers of costs for treating breast cancer. In a study led by Ami Vyas, PhD, MS, MBA, of the University of Rhode Island, published in the November issue of JNCCN–Journal of the...
One-third of insured people with cancer end up paying more out-of-pocket than they expected, despite having health insurance coverage, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute have found. The data showed that costs such as copays and deductibles could lead to financial distress among insured...
Today, ASCO issued a position statement aimed at contributing to the national dialogue on rising cancer drug prices. The statement, which asserts that any solutions must also preserve patients' access to care and foster innovation, analyzes a wide array of options and recommends that a panel of...
Being transparent about the cost of cancer treatments with patients has been increasingly recommended to help minimize financial harm and improve care, but what's preventing or derailing those conversations is less understood. New findings from Penn Medicine that identified several barriers and key ...
Among patients with cancer, as many as 53% of emergency department visits that do not require admission could be avoided with better symptom management and greater availability of outpatient care tailored to their needs, according to a new study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer...
Daniel A. Goldstein, MD, of Emory University and Rabin Medical Center, discusses his study findings that show nearly $1 billion in savings when patients receive personal weight-based doses instead of a predetermined fixed dose for treatment of PD-L1-positive non–small cell lung cancer. (Abstract...