Value Propositions

Results of a new survey of primary care physicians (PCPs) show that 1 in 3 PCPs believe that ovarian cancer screening is safe and effective, contrary to current evidence. The survey was published in the February 7, 2012, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, has announced it is launching its Personalized Medicine Institute to advance the fight against cancer, and implementing the promise of personalized cancer care medicine by focusing on innovative biotechnology with its biotechnology subsidiary M2Gen.

Researchers at Espicom Business Intelligence, a medical and pharmaceutical market analysis company, predict that the development of novel biologic approaches to drug therapy will bring "a sea change" to the approach to cancer therapy, by focusing on controlling solid tumors and the introduction of new drugs that target new pathways.

On September 26, 2011, the FDA issued an approvable letter to Mela Sciences, the manufacturer of MelaFind, an investigational diagnostic device for early melanoma.

In a new study funded by the National Cancer Institute and the University of Michigan Clinical Research Center, inexpensive ginger supplements reduced markers of colon inflammation, indicating that ginger root may be beneficial in preventing colon cancer (Zick SM, et al. Cancer Prev Res [Phila]. 2011 Oct 11. Epub ahead of print).

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a promising approach for differentiating which patients with inoperable lung cancer will and will not benefit from additional treatment after standard chemotherapy/radiation therapy.

Another report in the same issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine focuses on the relevance of 3 concepts that can help in understanding the value of clinical interventions for those involved in clinical decisions (Owens DK, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:174-180).

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued a report (Wonderling D, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:758-765) explaining the process and value of cost-effectiveness assessments and how these inform recommendations and decisions regarding clinical questions made by the UK National Clinical Guidelines Centre.

The most recent mammography screening recommendations call on women to begin annual screening for breast cancer at age 40 years, regardless of their risk for the disease.