ASCO 2014 Highlights

Madrid, Spain—Combination therapy with a BRAF inhibitor and a MEK inhibitor improves survival outcomes in patients with advanced BRAF-mutated melanoma, based on results of 2 phase 3 clinical trials presented at the 2014 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

Chicago, IL—A head-to-head comparison of 2 monoclonal antibodies for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) has shown no difference in their benefit when paired with chemotherapy in the first-line setting.

Chicago, IL—AZD9291, a novel mutation-selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), may become a treatment option for patients with advanced, EGFR-mutated non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has progressed with standard EGFR inhibitors, according to results of a phase 1 study presented at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting and highlighted at a press briefing.

Chicago, IL—Obesity increased the risk for breast cancer–associated death in premenopausal patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, had little effect in postmenopausal women with ER-positive disease, and had no effect in patients with ER-negative disease, according to results of a large study of 80,000 women with early breast cancer that were reported at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting.

Chicago, IL—The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening for patients at high risk. What would it mean in terms of cost to society if those recommendations were implemented in the Medicare population?

Chicago, IL—The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced the concept of a breakthrough therapy designation in 2012 to help expedite patient access to new therapies for the treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases.

Chicago, IL—Delaying androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for at least 2 years did not lead to worse overall survival or prostate cancer–specific survival compared with the initiation of ADT within 3 months of rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in men with PSA-only relapse (ie, biochemical relapse) after the primary treatment of prostate cancer with surgery or radiation, according to the results of a large population-based study presented at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting and highlighted at a press briefing.

Chicago, IL—The question of value in oncology continues to pose challenges for oncologists and payers alike, as the costs of therapy continue to rise and health plans are wrestling with the need to design insurance coverage that promotes value.

Chicago, IL—Although the majority of oncologists believe that discussing the costs of care with the patient is impor­tant, many report a lack of resources available to them to inform cost-benefit decisions and a lack of time to discuss these issues with patients.