November/December 2010, Vol 1, No 6

Both practice guidelines and thought leaders increasingly recommend biomarker tests for optimization of cancer care; there is, however, a gap between these recommendations, the way physicians practice, and the way they think they practice.

At the request of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will conduct a study on national variation in healthcare spending and utilization for individuals with Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or no insurance.

A blood-use protocol program at Loyola University Hospital in Chicago has lowered the amount of blood products transfused per patient, which in turn has led to greater patient safety and lowered costs, according to research presented at the College of American Pathologists annual meeting in Chicago.

Removing payment for health insurance deductibles leads to increased, although modest, improvements in the rates of screening for conditions such as cancer and elevated cholesterol (Meeker D, et al. Health Serv Res. 2010. Online doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2010.01188.x).

A study comparing the use of computed tomography (CT) versus standard chest x-rays for screening those at high risk for lung cancer found that CT screening resulted in 20% fewer deaths from the disease.

Spending money on colorectal cancer screening programs that target the pre-Medicare population (those between 50 and 64 years of age) is necessary to reduce the costs of colorectal cancer in the Medicare program, according to research presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 75th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, TX.

Paclitaxel (Taxol), which is produced from the bark of the yew, may become cheaper and easier to produce now that researchers have isolated and grown stem cells from that tree (Nat Biotechnol.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Department of Health has pledged £250 million toward a Cancer Drugs Fund that will pay for new treatments not available in the state-funded health system.