Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and John A. Gentile, Jr, Chairman, Harborside Press, LLC, discuss the early days of NCCN, controversies that surrounded the first meeting, oncologists’ embrace of the guidelines, and how the organization has evolved over the past 20 years.
Although guidelines worldwide mandate fertility preservation for newly diagnosed patients within their reproductive window, most patients are still not referred or offered this option. Rebecca H. Johnson, MD, of Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, explains the steps that need to be taken when counseling patients.
Clifford Goodman, PhD, of the The Lewin Group, and Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discuss the affordability of cancer care, the “financial toxicities” of high drug prices, and what could and should be done about it.
Leora Horn, MD, MSc, of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses the range of treatment options for people with lung cancer, including third generation inhibitors, and the key clinical trials studying alternatives for patients with acquired resistance.
Wui-Jin Koh, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses the program to adapt NCCN guidelines to regions of the world with different resource availability. The first guideline to be adapted in this way is for cervical cancer, which is prevalent in the developing world.
Axel Grothey, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, discusses how the NCCN Guidelines can help oncologists make strategic choices of the various agents available to treat metastatic colorectal cancer, individualizing patient care.
