Each year in Europe, 6,000 young people die from cancer, and two-thirds of those who survive suffer from treatment-related side effects. Although there has been considerable progress in the treatment of childhood cancers over the past few decades, and cancer in childhood is rare, these are major...
Adherence to aromatase inhibitor treatment for breast cancer declines over time. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Neuner et al found that introduction of generic aromatase inhibitors resulted in a reduction in decline in adherence among patients with breast...
Older persons are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and account for the majority of cancer diagnoses and deaths and the majority of cancer survivors. However, since this population is underrepresented in clinical trials, the evidence base for treating older patients is poor. As...
The costs associated with cancer drug prices have risen dramatically over the past 15 years, a trend concerning to many oncologists. In a new analysis, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center concluded that the majority of existing treatments for hematologic cancers are...
Screening for colorectal cancer increased in individuals with a lower socioeconomic status after 2008, perhaps reflecting the Affordable Care Act’s removal of financial barriers to screening, according to a new analysis. The study, by American Cancer Society investigators, was published by...
Pictures illustrating the dangers of cigarette smoking were more effective at strengthening people’s intentions to quit smoking than text warnings, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analysis of multiple research studies has found. These findings were published by Noar et al in...
In a statement, the American Society of Clinical Oncology praised the U.S. Senate’s 92-to-8 approval of legislation to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate formula. ASCO President Peter Paul Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO, said, “Today's courageous vote by the U.S. Senate to finally end the...
Uninsured cancer patients are paying anywhere from 2 to 43 times what Medicare would pay for chemotherapy drugs, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These findings were published by Dusetzina et al in Health Affairs. Major Discrepancies Researchers led...
The U.S. cancer care system faces tremendous turbulence while dealing with growing numbers of cancer patients and survivors, mounting pressures to control rising health-care costs, and widespread oncology practice transformation, reports a new study by the American Society of Clinical Oncology...
On Thursday, February 12, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its new Oncology Care Model, a multipayer payment and care delivery model meant to support better health-care coordination for patients with cancer. Although commending the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...
Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final national coverage determination that provides for Medicare coverage of screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT). The coverage is effective immediately. “This is the first time that Medicare...
ASCO issued its new Policy Statement on Medicaid Reform yesterday, which calls for major changes to the program to ensure access to high-quality cancer care for all low-income individuals. The Society’s recommendations call for Medicaid expansion in all 50 states to close coverage gaps,...
Even before the next Congress is formally elected, a national group of health-care stakeholders called the Cancer Innovation Coalition (CIC) went to Capitol Hill today to call for early legislative and regulatory action in 2015 that will reinvigorate cancer innovation in the United States. The...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zhong et al assessed factors associated with use of immediate breast reconstruction after treatment or prophylaxis for breast cancer among women in the Canadian universal health-care system. Immediate breast reconstruction was more likely in...
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is likely to improve insurance coverage for young adults. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Aizer et al examined the association between insurance status and cancer outcomes among young adults, finding that the uninsured...
Today the American Cancer Society issued a report showing a 20% decline in cancer death rates between 1991 and 2010, and estimating that 1.3 million deaths have been averted as a result of the decline. ASCO issued the following statement: “This is tremendous progress and a direct result ...
Five commonly used hematology tests, treatments, and procedures are not always necessary, according to the Choosing Wisely® initiative of the ABIM (American Board of Internal Medicine) Foundation. The American Society of Hematology (ASH) Choosing Wisely list of these five tests was...
A new educational tool for oncologists may enhance compliance with quality care standards and improve the value of cancer care, ultimately resulting in big cost savings for health-care systems, according to Karen Fields, MD, and colleagues from H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute,...
According to the Congressional Budget Office, over the next 10 years, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will result in approximately 25 million newly insured individuals and 12 million more Medicaid beneficiaries through the the Medicaid expansion provision. While the law provides...
Rural cancer survivors aged 65 or older were 66% more likely to forgo routine follow-up health care and 54% more likely to forgo dental care because of cost, compared with their urban counterparts, according to a study by Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH, Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Social...
“With the unprecedented scientific opportunities now promising significant progress against cancer and other life-threatening diseases, it is a tragedy that we are even considering cuts to our nation's investment in biomedical research. Yet, such cuts are already happening because of the...
This afternoon, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) hosted a congressional briefing to highlight the significance of federally funded biomedical research in improving our understanding of cancer health disparities and developing targeted interventions to eliminate them. The...
Different factors influence delay between diagnosis and first course of treatment for breast cancer for African American and white women, according to a recently published study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The study used data from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS)...
A jointly signed letter by ASCO and more than 50 other cancer and health-care organizations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius and Acting Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) Seth D. Harris asks that they provide clear federal regulations and guidance on...
Members of Congress are considering two bills that could advance cures for breast cancer and provide better education for women grappling with decisions about their treatment options. Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2013 (S. 865/H.R. 1830)...
The promotion of accountable care organizations, a crucial element in the Affordable Care Act, may result in liability risks, asserted authors H. Benjamin Harvey, MD, JD, a radiologist in the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and I. Glenn Cohen, JD, Assistant Professor of...
According to a June 3 letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), there will be no reprieve in the 2% ($11.08 billion) reduction to Medicare providers and hospitals mandated by the federal budget sequestration. The letter by CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner was in...
Earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released its updated projections of reductions in programs due to the deficit-budget mechanism known as sequestration, which took effect on March 1, 2013. The sequestration law requires NIH to cut 5%, or $1.55 billion, of its fiscal year...
“Today, out of concern for public safety, Congress provided the Federal Aviation Administration enhanced flexibility in application of sequestration related cuts, including reversal of furlough requirements imposed on air traffic controllers. Individuals with cancer deserve no less....
The American Society of Clinical Oncology, Community Oncology Alliance, ION Solutions, and The US Oncology Network today commended a bipartisan group of 124 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives who sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expressing concern...
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case seeking to invalidate patents on two genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) was one of the first plaintiffs to sign onto this historic legal case. ACMG was also ...
The President has released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2014, which proposes new reductions for cancer care services. Taken in combination with existing strains imposed by sequestration, this proposal threatens access to care for some of America's most vulnerable: elderly patients with ...
A strong, stable federal investment in cancer research, prevention, and treatment is critical to continue the progress we are making for the more than 1.66 million Americans newly diagnosed with cancer every year. ASCO calls on Congress to renew its commitment to this life-sustaining research. As...
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA), in conjunction with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, International Oncology Network/AmerisourceBergen, and the US Oncology Network, issued a joint statement on the crippling effects of sequestration cuts to cancer drugs and services which began April ...
A national survey of health professionals showed that drug shortages are taking a heavy toll on cancer patients, forcing treatment changes and delays that for some patients meant worse outcomes, more therapy-related complications, and higher costs. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital...
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) has announced the results of a national survey of oncology providers about the impact of the sequestration cuts to Medicare payments for cancer drugs and services effective April 1, 2013. The survey revealed that the planned sequestration cuts to cancer...
As Americans celebrate National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the Colon Cancer Alliance, COLONTOWN—a survivor/patient support group for colorectal disease, including cancer—and the American College of Radiology call on Congress to pass the CT Colonography Screening...
Statement by ASCO President Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, American Society of Clinical Oncology: Today marks the beginning of sequestration, the unprecedented automatic budget cuts that immediately take effect across the federal government—after months of futile negotiations by the President...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) hosted a briefing on February 12 for members of Congress and their legislative staffs that highlighted progress in cancer research and treatment as well as challenges created by decreased levels of funding. The briefing was held in the Rayburn...