Independent News for the Oncologist and Hematologist/Oncologist clinicaloncology.com • May 2011 • Vol. 6, No. 5
CLINICAL TRIALS
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M aurie Markman, MD, discusses the future of the Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program.
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SOLID TUMORS
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Medicare Patients Receive Subpar Care For Ovarian Cancer
G enentech builds case for FDA hearing on Avastin. P ET response is prognostic indicator in esophagogastric cancer. SUPPORTIVE CARE
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R eport helps doctors counsel cancer survivors.
reatment for ovarian cancer fell short of current standards more than 60% of the time in an analysis of 8,200 Medicare patients. Most patients had primary surgery, but roughly 25% received no chemotherapy. Of those who had surgery and chemotherapy, almost 50% did not receive the recommended six cycles of therapy. In patients receiving primary chemotherapy, three-fourths did not complete six cycles and two-thirds did not go on to have surgery. In 17% of cases, older patients with ovarian cancer had no primary therapy. These findings come from a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (abstract 2). see MEDICARE, page 20
PRN
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A Q&A with new ACCC president Thomas Whittaker, MD.
HematOlogic DISEASE
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New standard of care proposed for young MCL patients.
V TD beats VT regimen in multiple myeloma.
Tasigna® (nilotinib) as CML Therapy Following Resistance to Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate): A Case Discussion
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GUEST EDITORIAL
Vogl, New York …
Open Letter to David Koch: How to Spend on Prostate Research Dear Mr. Koch: I read with interest the article in the March 4, 2010, issue of The New York Times about your 19-year struggle with prostate cancer and your donations Steven Vogl, MD to cancer research. I suggest you focus your giving on a largely neglected issue that could markedly enhance the quality of life for large numbers of men with prostate cancer. It occurs to me that your contributions, large though they are, constitute only a tiny fraction of the amount see FUTURE, page 16
BATTLE: A New Dawn for Personalized NSCLC Therapy Orlando, Fla.—Researchers have completed and published EGFR the first trial in non-small cell lung cancer to prospectively biopsy patients, and based on KRAS/BRAF tumor markers, use an adaptive randomization to select one of four drug therapies. VEGF/VEGFR-2 Researchers say the trial, called BATTLE, opens up the field for personalizing therapy for lung RXRs/Cyclin D1 cancer. Adjuvant therapy and even preventive lung cancer care could be impacted. In the study, led by Edward CCND1 S. Kim, chief of the Section of Head and Neck Medical Oncology and associate professor at A lung biopsy guided by computed tomography the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, This represented a 50% improvement patients with chemorefractory non-small over observed results in historical patient cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had a 46% over- cohorts. The study was published in see BATTLE, page 28 all disease control at eight weeks (Figure).
POLICY & MANAGEMENT
ACOs: The Promise and the Peril Found Money: Part 3 of a Four-Part Series
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n late March, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled its long-awaited proposed rule governing accountable care organizations (ACOs), a model that federal health officials hope will improve the quality of care given to Medicare patients while helping to lower costs.
Reimbursement Benefits Under the proposal, ACOs would have
to meet quality standards in certain key areas, including care coordination, patient–caregiver care experiences, patient safety, preventive health and care for at-risk populations such as the frail elderly. ACO participants would share the savings generated by reducing adverse events and avoiding costly hospitalizations and emergency room visits. The CMS would determine the amount see FOUND MONEY, page 26
FDA News Yervoy approved for melanoma.
Zytiga approved for prostate cancer.
See page 8.
See page 8.