January 2013, Vol 4, No 1

On August 3, 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap) for use in combination with a FOLFIRI chemotherapy regimen to treat adults with mCRC that is resistant to or has progressed after an oxaliplatin-containing regimen.

San Antonio, TX—For the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive early breast cancer, 10 years of treatment with tamoxifen yields better outcomes than 5 years of treatment, according to an analysis from the international ATLAS study that was presented at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

San Antonio, TX—The addition of an oral investigational agent to letrozole (Femara) for the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive metastatic breast cancer more than tripled the time spent in remission compared with endocrine therapy alone, according to a study reported at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Vancouver, BC—In the aftermath of the Z0011 study from the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, oncology centers across the United States are reexamining their approach to axillary management in breast cancer.

Vienna, Austria—Despite a robust response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which renders many early breast cancer tumors resectable, breast-conserving surgery is often overlooked in favor of mastectomy, according to an analysis of the Neo-ALLTO clinical trial, which was presented at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

San Antonio, TX—Black women with clinically node-negative invasive breast cancer were less likely than white women to undergo sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for axillary staging and also were more likely to develop lymphedema, according to a study presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

San Diego, CA—A real-time performance tracking system that monitors adherence to quality care metrics significantly improved adherence to quality standards over a 4-year period for 64 cancer centers participating in the Rapid Quality Reporting System (RQRS) “beta test,” according to researchers who are pioneering the program.

San Diego, CA—A multidisciplinary team approach for discussing end-of-life issues with patients reduces the use of the intensive care unit (ICU) without shortening survival time, researchers from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University said at ASCO’s inaugural 2012 Quality Care Symposium.

In the December 2012 issue of Value-Based Cancer Care (VBCC), several Editorial Board members addressed the recent events surrounding the cost of cancer drugs and the reduction of the price of ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap). VBCC continued this discussion with Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO.

San Antonio, TX—In determining the optimal treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), gene expression profiling using the Oncotype DX DCIS Score is more cost-effective than standard clinical assessment, primarily because it avoids radiotherapy for approximately 66% of these patients.