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Patients with cancer are not just faced with a terrifying disease; they must also surmount an uphill climb when it comes to accessing care. Advocates—some of whom have shared in their experiences as patients—are hard at work to ensure access is a reality. A roundtable discussion of patient advocates at the 2019 AVBCC Summit focused on identifying the major obstacles to care and what can be done to improve patient access. Read More ›

Medicare models for value-based care in oncology started with the Oncology Care Model (OCM), which was launched in July 2016 and will run until June 2021. Value-based care is here to stay, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to develop and test more value-based models and tools through the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation. CMS recently released an informal Request for Information on a proposed Oncology Care First model to succeed the first OCM. Commercial payers and state governments are also introducing their own value-based agreements with community oncology practices, hospitals, and health systems. Read More ›

On December 3, 2019, the FDA approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq; Genentech), in combination with paclitaxel protein-bound (Abraxane) and carboplatin chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic nonsquamous non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that does not harbor EGFR or ALK genomic mutations. Read More ›

On December 16, 2019, the FDA approved a new indication for enzalutamide (Xtandi; Pfizer, Astellas) for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer. Enzalutamide was previously approved for the treatment of patients with nonmetastatic and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Read More ›

On December 27, 2019, the FDA approved a new indication for olaparib (Lynparza; AstraZeneca), for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer whose disease has not progressed on at least 16 weeks of a first-line platinum-based chemotherapy regimen. The FDA also approved the BRACAnalysis CDx test (Myriad Genetics) as a companion diagnostic to select patients with pancreatic cancer who are candidates for treatment with olaparib based on the identification of deleterious or suspected deleterious germline mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Read More ›

The FDA has confirmed another strong year regarding the approval of innovative new drugs and biosimilars, including several agents used in the treatment of patients with cancer. Read More ›

Running a financially successful practice in community oncology is challenging. Learn more about revenue cycle management (RCM). Read More ›

On December 12, 2019, the FDA issued draft guidance to implement amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act that will facilitate early assessment of studies of molecularly targeted oncology drugs that may be effective in the treatment of pediatric cancers. Read More ›

Chicago, IL—Reduced-dose chemotherapy is as effective as full-dose chemotherapy for frail elderly patients with advanced gastroesophageal cancer, according to results of the phase 3 GO2 clinical trial presented at ASCO 2019. Lower doses of oxaliplatin plus capecitabine (OCap) led to similar survival outcomes and improved quality of life compared with higher doses of that regimen. Read More ›

Since July 2016, more than 170 oncology practices across the United States have been participating in the Oncology Care Model (OCM), the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)’s 5-year pilot program designed to deliver higher quality, more coordinated oncology care at the same or lower cost. When practices elected to participate in the OCM, they knew they would eventually have to decide whether to accept 2-sided risk or leave the program, if a performance-based payment was not achieved. Read More ›