June 2012, Vol 3, No 4

Patients with the relatively rare brain tumor anaplastic oligodendroglioma who were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy after standard radiation therapy had improved survival compared with radiation alone, especially if they had codeletion of chromosomes 1p/19q, according to long-term follow-up of the EORTC (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer) 2651 study reported at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Chicago, IL—Several presentations featured at a news conference at the 2012 American Association for Cancer Research meeting highlighted new therapies showing promising results in the early stage of research, potentially charting new options for patients with cancer.

There is progress in at least 4 areas: pediatric brain tumors, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and generally advanced cancers, according to 4 current studies described at the 2012 American Association for Cancer Research meeting.

A combination of ipilimumab and the granulocyte-macrophage colonystimulating factor-transduced allogeneic prostate cancer cells vaccine (GVAX) was feasible and tolerable in an openlabel phase 1 study in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (van den Eertwegh AJM, et al. Lancet Oncol. 2012;13:509-517).

When oral navitoclax (ABT-263) was evaluated in an open-label, phase 2 study in adult patients with recurrent and progressive small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) who had received at least 1 prior therapy, this Bcl-2 inhibitor showed only limited activity (Rudin CM, et al. Clin Cancer Res. 2012;18;1-7).

Baltimore, MD—Radiation technologies rank as some of the most interesting new developments. However, the advantages of these new technologies in terms of patient outcomes are sometimes elusive, and the costs of acquiring radiologic facilities—and the revenue generated by them—are increasingly coming into question.

At the 2012 Association of Community Cancer Centers meeting, several presenters offered practical tips to help in the new climate of healthcare reform.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act has set aside $19 billion in incentives to encourage healthcare providers to adopt and meaningfully use electronic medical record (EMR) technology in an effort to provide more patient-centered care.

The Oncology Management Program at CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) continues to evolve, producing nearly 10% in cost-savings over prepathways practice, and ensuring that patients get more appropriate care, said Winston Wong, PharmD, Associate Vice President of Pharmacy Management at CareFirst BCBS, who described the program at the Second Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

Houston, TX—“Personalized medicine can improve healthcare delivery, improve healthcare outcomes, and help manage healthcare costs and spending,” said Jeffrey Scott, MD, Senior Vice President, General Manager for P4 Healthcare/Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, at the Second Annual Con ference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.