Oncology Newsfeed

ASCO Reviews Commercial Clinical Pathways Landscape

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) reviews six leading commercial oncology pathway vendors in "Oncology Clinical Pathways: Charting the Landscape of Pathway Providers." The article, published online February 7, 2018, in the Journal of Oncology Practice," assesses six commercial clinical pathway vendors using ASCO's criteria for high-quality clinical pathways.

Read ASCO Press ReleaseAccess Article and Learn More
Posted 2/8/18

FDA Approves New Treatment for Certain Digestive Tract Cancers

On Jan. 26, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Lutathera (lutetium Lu 177 dotatate) for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), a type of cancer that affects the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract. This is the first time a radioactive drug, or radiopharmaceutical, has been approved for the treatment of GEP-NETs. Lutathera is indicated for adult patients with somatostatin receptor-positive GEP-NETs.

GEP-NETs can be present in the pancreas and in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract such as the stomach, intestines, colon and rectum. It is estimated that approximately one out of 27,000 people are diagnosed with GEP-NETs per year.

Read the FDA announcement.

Posted 1/26/2018

Alex Azar to Head HHS

On January 24, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alex Azar, as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by a 55-43 vote. Azar, a former Eli Lilly executive, is anticipated to align closely with Trump administration policies on the Affordable Care Act, Medicare spending, and other issues, reports Bloomberg BNA.

Posted 1/25/2018

CAP, IASLC, AMP Release Updated Lung Biomarker Guideline

The College of American Pathologists (CAP), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) announced the much-anticipated release of their updated guideline for molecular testing and targeted therapies in lung cancer. The work of these three leading medical societies, updates their 2013 evidence-based guidelines.

Published first online on January 23, the “Updated Molecular Testing Guideline for the Selection of Lung Cancer Patients for Treatment with Targeted Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors,” makes revisions to standards for the molecular analysis of lung cancers for test results that reflect advances in understanding of lung cancer and the increase in available molecularly-targeted therapies.

“Several factors influenced this update, which builds on the guidance we set forth in 2013,” said Neal Lindeman, MD, director of Molecular Diagnostics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and AMP member. “Clinical practice guidelines must continually assess new evidence as it accumulates and consider new testing technologies as they emerge,” he said in a statement.

According to the IASLC press release, the updated guideline "strengthens or reaffirms" the majority of recommendations included in the 2013 guideline and recommends testing for some new genes.

Read the updated guideline.

View resources from CAP, IASLC, and AMP to help pathologists and oncologists review and implement the guidelines (includes a summary of recommendations, teaching presention, and FAQs).

Posted 1/25/2018

MAC Operations To Continue During Government Shutdown

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has stated that "During the time that the partial government shutdown is in effect, Medicare Administrative Contractors will continue to perform all functions related to Medicare fee-for-service claims processing and payment." This announcement was made through a special edition of CMS's MLN Connects dated Monday, January 22, 2018.

Posted 1/22/2018

MedPAC Recommends Eliminating MIPS

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted on Jan. 11, to recommend to Congress that the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) be scrapped. The federal advisory panel suggested replacing the quality reporting program with a Voluntary Value Program. MedPAC is an independent congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program.

Whether Congress will accept MedPAC's recommendation to eliminate MIPS is unknown. However, Bloomberg BNA reports that a House Energy and Commerce Committee spokesperson has indicated that the committee plans to continue work to ensure the success of MIPS.

Posted 1/19/2018

FDA Approves Olaparib for Germline BRCA-mutated Metastatic Breast Cancer

On Jan. 12, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to olaparib tablets (Lynparza, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP), a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm), HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have been treated with chemotherapy either in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting.

This is the first FDA-approved treatment for patients with gBRCAm HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer should have been treated with a prior endocrine therapy or be considered inappropriate for endocrine treatment. Patients must be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for olaparib.

Read the FDA announcement.

Posted 1/12/2018

FDA Grants Broadened Indication for Afatinib in First-Line Treatment of Certain Patients with Metastatic NSCLC

On Jan. 12, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to afatinib (Gilotrif, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceutical, Inc.) for a broadened indication in first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have non-resistant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations as detected by an FDA-approved test.

Read the FDA announcement.

Posted 1/12/2018

ACCC Mourns the Passing of Long-Time Member Marsha Fountain Woznuck, RN, MSN

he Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) is deeply saddened by the passing of Marsha Fountain Woznuck, RN, MSN, on January 7, 2018. An active ACCC member for many years, she served on the ACCC Program Committee Advisory Panel (2012-2015); shared her knowledge on ACCCExchange, the association’s member listserv; and presented at ACCC and oncology state society conferences.

Marsha Fountain Woznuck began her career in the cancer field as a pediatric oncology nurse and later transitioned to cancer center administration. She served as vice president for an architecture and design firm focused on patient-centered spaces and as president of a nationally recognized cancer consulting firm.

Her expertise, commitment, and contributions to advancing the care and well-being of patients with cancer will be greatly missed.

Posted 1/10/2018

FDA Approves Denosumab for Prevention of Skeletal-related Events in Multiple Myeloma

On Jan. 5, 2018, Amgen announced that U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's supplemental Biologics License Application for Xgeva (denosumab) to expand the currently approved indication for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors to include patients with multiple myeloma.

Read the corporate press release.

Posted 1/10/2018