October 2014, Vol 5 , No 8

Madrid, Spain—Final results from the CLEOPATRA (Clinical Evaluation of Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab) trial show that dual HER2 blockade with the combination of pertuzumab and trastuzumab plus chemotherapy extended overall survival (OS) by almost 16 months compared with trastuzumab plus chemotherapy alone in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Although increasing the reimbursement rate for cancer screening tests does not consistently improve the likelihood of Medicaid beneficiaries being screened for cancer, raising the rate of reimbursement for office visits does consistently increase the likelihood that they will be screened for cancer, including breast or prostate cancer, according to results of a new analysis of Medicaid claims and enrollment data (Halpern MT, et al. Cancer. 2014 Aug 25. Epub ahead of print).

On July 3, 2014, the FDA approved belinostat (Beleodaq; Spectrum Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL.

Los Angeles, CA—The advocacy community’s goal of patient-centered cancer care has evolved substantially over the past decade, said Kim Thiboldeaux, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Support Community (CSC), Washington, DC.

Los Angeles, CA—It is a good business decision to invest in better cancer management for employees with cancer, according to Lillie D. Shockney, RN, MAS, University Distinguished Service Associate Professor of Breast Cancer, Johns Hopkins Breast Center.

Los Angeles, CA—Wilshire Oncology Medical Group President Linda D. Bosserman, MD, discussed the group practice’s oncology medical home pilot of value-based innovation at the Fourth Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

>Los Angeles, CA—Can comparative effectiveness research (CER) be used for determining value in cancer care? At the Fourth Annual Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care, C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, Chairman, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, discussed this topic on the challenges of applying CER into value-based oncology therapy.

FDA Approves New Combination Therapy, Akynzeo, for the Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting Associated with Chemotherapy
FDA Grants Priority Review for Palbociclib, a Novel Breast Cancer Drug

New York, NY—The FDA approvals of obinutuzumab (Gazyva), ofatumumab (Arzerra), ibrutinib (Imbruvica), and idelalisib (Zydelig) have changed the treatment paradigm of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

New York, NY—In a debate on the role of rituximab (Rituxan) maintenance therapy in patients with follicular lymphoma at the 2014 National Comprehensive Cancer Network Congress, the protagonist and antagonist were not that far apart.