August 2011 Vol 4, No 4, Special Issue

Health Economics

Get Ready for the New Era of “Genomic Chaos” in Cancer Care
Wayne Kuznar
Patients Want to Discuss Cost of Care, Oncologists Often Avoid It
But OOP share should not affect clinical decisions
Wayne Kuznar
High Out-of-Pocket Costs Degrade Quality of Cancer Care
Financial toxicity common in oncology
Financial Incentives Encourage Patients to Choose Less Expensive Regimens
Caroline Helwick
Economic Recession Affects Rates of Cancer Incidence and Treatment
Unemployed patients forgo testing and life-saving therapies
Wayne Kuznar
Value of Targeted Therapies in Patients Lacking a Molecular Target Questioned
High discontinuation rate leads to increased initial Rx cost
Caroline Helwick
Most End-of-Life Costs for Patients with Cancer Are Not Drug-Related
Bankruptcy Rates Markedly Greater for Cancer Survivors
Inappropriate Antineoplastic Agents Use for Metastatic Cancer Costs Insurers Millions
Socioeconomic Status Affects Cancer Care
Medicaid Reimbursement for Cancer Screening Lags Inflation
Wayne Kuznar

Oncology Pipeline

Novel Approaches to Therapy in the Oncology Pipeline
Caroline Helwick

Breast Cancer

Exemestane: New Option for Breast Cancer Prevention
A potential shift in management
Regional Lymph Node Irradiation Indicated for Early Breast Cancer

Metastatic Melanoma

Novel Agents Boost Survival in Metastatic Melanoma
Audrey Andrews

Multiple Myeloma

Multiple Myeloma Treatments Are Moving Rapidly from Bench to Bedside
A new paradigm in drug development
Wayne Kuznar
Investigational Regimens with Bortezomib for Multiple Myeloma

Prostate Cancer

New Treatment Options for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Initial Treatment of Prostate Cancer in Medicare Moving Toward High-Cost Technologies
Cabozantinib Shows Dramatic Effects on Bone Metastases in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Wayne Kuznar

Lymphoma/Leukemia

HBV Screening before Lymphoma Treatment Improves Outcomes, Is Cost-Effective
Optimal Length of Treatment of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Debated
Caroline Helwick
High-Dose Methotrexate Improves Survival in High-Risk B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Lung Cancer

Maintenance with Pemetrexed Extends Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Nonsquamous NSCLC

Rectal Cancer

Adherence to Rectal Cancer Guidelines High, Insured Patients Overtreated
Oxaliplatin for Advanced Rectal Cancer

Other Highlights

JAK Inhibitor Improves Response, Symptoms in Patients with High-Risk Myelofibrosis
New Standard of Care for Childhood Neuroblastoma
Assay Can Streamline Use of Temozolomide in Glioblastoma

Payers’ Perspective

What Do Payers Want in Oncology Diagnostics? Insights from a National Survey of Top Commercial and Medicare Health Plans
Gene Trogan, PhD