Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, tobacco use remains a serious public health threat. In addition to tobacco-related death and disease, smoking also increases the risk of the most severe impacts of COVID-19. The American Lung Association has released its 19th annual “State of Tobacco Control”...
According to findings published by Kressin et al in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, women living in states where dense breast notifications are legislatively mandated had higher rates of being informed about personal breast density and of having had breast density discussions with ...
A study by Quyen D. Chu, MD, MBA, FACS, and colleagues published in the journal Cancer investigated how expansion of the Medicaid provision in the the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) affected breast cancer care in Louisiana. The state is the third poorest in the country and has one ...
In states that have expanded Medicaid availability as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mortality rates for three major types of cancer are significantly lower than in states that have not expanded their Medicaid, according to findings from a new study published by Miranda B. Lam, MD, MBA, and ...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has released the 10th edition of its annual Cancer Progress Report. The report highlights how cancer research, largely supported by federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is...
States that adopted Medicaid expansion after passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 saw a decline in cancer mortality rates by 29% compared with 25% in states that did not expand access to Medicaid, according to a study by Anna Lee, MD, MPH, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New...
Advanced-stage cancer diagnoses declined following health insurance expansion in Massachusetts, likely due to increased access to screening and diagnostic services that identified cancers earlier, according to new research published by Sabik et al in the journal Medical Care. The analysis...
Today, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2019, which highlights how research largely supported by federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is spurring improvements in public health and innovations across the spectrum...
Hundreds of oncologists are working “side gigs” as expert witnesses in a wide range of medicolegal settings. With increasing conflict related to liability and insurance coverage, the demand continues to grow for objective physicians who are not involved in a specific case, have no personal...
Like most clinicians, oncologists often informally consult their colleagues, both asking questions and seeking suggestions on how best to care for their patients.1,2 These informal or “curbside” consults (sometimes called “sidewalk,” “elevator,” or “hallway” consults) are valuable, because the...
ASCO and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) hosted a reception on Capitol Hill for Members of Congress and their staff to underscore the two organizations’ shared policy priorities to improve research and cancer care delivery for patients and survivors. During the...
ASCO President Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, issued the following statement earlier this week: We strongly oppose the White House budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2020, which would stall our nation's progress against cancer and impede access to needed care for the millions of...
Over the past year, major research advances provided new treatment options for patients with rare, difficult-to-treat cancers. In recognition of these achievements, ASCO named “Progress in Treating Rare Cancers” as the Advance of the Year. To continue the forward momentum, ASCO also...
Ever since President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law on March 23, 2010, the nondiscrimination provision of the law, Section 1557, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health ...
High drug prices are the number one health-care concern of many Americans. The average price of a cancer drug rose from less than $10,000/yr before 2000 to more than $170,000/yr in 2017.1-3 Between 1995 and 2013, the launch price of cancer drugs increased by 10% to 12% every year, and the average...
This past month, President Trump signed a pair of bills into law aimed at increasing transparency with regard to drug prices in the United States. The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act (S.2554) and the Know the Lowest Price Act (S.2553) prohibit so-called “gag clauses,” which prevent...
Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) recognized Senators Orrin Hatch (R–UT) and Michael Bennet (D–CO) for responding to a recently identified public health issue and proposing a solution to an issue impacting patients and their physicians. Senators Hatch and Bennet jointly introduced the Making...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has released its annual Cancer Progress Report,1 highlighting how federally funded research discoveries are fueling the development of new and even more effective ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat cancer. Key advances outlined in the...
Fumiko Ladd Chino, MD, of Duke University, discusses results from a population study she conducted of the opioid epidemic over the past 10 years and why these medications for cancer pain should continue to be excluded from restrictive-prescribing laws (Abstract 230).
Among other policy responses to the growing opioid epidemic, many states have enacted legislation that limits the duration or amount of opioid prescriptions issued by physicians. Although, it is clear we need strong measures to mitigate widespread overuse and misuse of opioids. These...
ON MAY 30, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act of 2017.1 This law creates an additional and alternative pathway for patients with a “life-threatening disease or condition” to access...
Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD, of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, discusses implications of the federal “Right to Try” law, recently enacted.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, released the following statement today: For patients with serious or immediately life-threatening diseases, the FDA remains committed to enhancing access to promising investigational medicines for those unable to access...
On May 22, the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Treatment Access and Research (STAR) Act was passed by the Senate and House and is now being sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. As the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill ever introduced to Congress, the Childhood Cancer STAR Act...
The rising cost of anticancer drugs not only adds fiscal pressure to our overburdened health-care system, but also increases the stress on patients with cancer and their families. High out-of-pocket spending may cause significant financial toxicity, even for patients with good health insurance...
Overwhelming evidence shows that patient decision aids, such as educational booklets, videos, or Web-based tools that take into account patients’ values and personal preferences, hold enormous promise for improving the informed consent process. Patient decision aids both reduce unwanted medical...
Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, speaks during Panel 5: Legal and Policy Issues Associated With Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatments at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, in collaboration with Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center.
Charles Sawyers, MD, Chair, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, speaks during Panel 5: Legal and Policy Issues Associated With Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatments at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, in collaboration with Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center.
On March 23, 2018, ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, issued the following statement: The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) applauds Congress for its bipartisan support of the omnibus spending bill that significantly boosts our nation’s investment in biomedical research. By...
Why wouldn’t you support a patient with a terminal illness the “right to try” any therapy that may save his or her life? The answer to this question—one engulfed in a political debate in Congress—seems simple. It is not. [Editor’s Note: [Editor’s Note: On May 30, 2018, the President signed into...
Why wouldn’t you support a patient with a terminal illness the “right to try” any therapy that may save his or her life? The answer to this question—one engulfed in a political debate in Congress—seems simple. It is not. [Editor’s Note: On May 30, 2018, the President signed into law the Trickett...
In 2017, the District of Columbia (DC) became the seventh jurisdiction in the United States to legalize medical aid in dying,1 which gives terminally ill patients the option of how and when they die. The new DC statute is nearly identical to earlier enacted medical aid in dying statutes in...
On December 6, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) delivered a letter from the current AACR President and Past Presidents—as well as Fellows of the AACR Academy that include 18 Nobel Laureates—to urge leaders in the House and Senate to “move quickly to finalize a...
The American Hospital Association (AHA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and America’s Essential Hospitals have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent significant...
On September 27 and 28, more than 100 ASCO volunteers headed to Capitol Hill to participate in the 2nd Annual ASCO Advocacy Summit. During the Summit, advocates met with members of Congress and staff to educate them on critical issues affecting patients and providers and to encourage policymakers...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new strategy to address tobacco-related disease and death. The agency seeks to develop a plan to reduce the nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to nonaddictive levels. However, as part of the strategy, the FDA also announced it ...
On August 3, the leadership of Kids v Cancer, an advocacy group promoting pediatric cancer research, issued the following statement: Today, the U.S. Senate passed the FDA Reauthorization Act and with it, the RACE for Children Act. Now, new cancer drugs will be developed not only for...
In the past 10 years, we have made remarkable advances in how we fight cancer. One of the most powerful new tools in our arsenal is cancer immunotherapy, which reawakens our own immune system to produce stunning results for many suffering from advanced cancer. Immunotherapy saved President Jimmy...
Xuesong Han, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, discusses the Affordable Care Act and her study findings showing how implementation of the law is associated with a shift to early-stage diagnosis for all screenable cancers except prostate cancer (likely due to Task Force recommendations against routine screening). (Abstract 6521)
If enacted, the proposed budget reduction of $5.8 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will slow research, deprive patients afflicted with cancer of hope, and deliver a devastating blow to our science workforce and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This proposed reduction directly...
ASCO is now accepting applications for its prestigious Health Policy Fellowship, a 1-year fellowship opportunity designed to give early-career oncologists the unique skills necessary to monitor and shape the regulatory and legislative policies that directly affect the practice environment and...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on September 15 that it has taken action against 55 tobacco retailers by issuing the first warning letters for selling newly regulated tobacco products—such as e-cigarettes, e-liquids, and cigars—to minors. These actions come about a month after ...
While a majority of states are still missing important opportunities to pass and implement legislative solutions proven to prevent and fight cancer, progress is being made to move the nation closer to ending cancer as we know it, according to a report recently released by the American Cancer...
“We are in an era of unprecedented scientific opportunities in cancer research,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), Executive Officer, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), as she introduced the Congressional briefing, “Seizing Today’s Opportunities to Accelerate Cancer Research.” “Thanks ...
On March 11, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register to test a change in reimbursement for Part B drugs.1 The first phase involves changing the 6% add-on to the average sales price (ASP) used to make drug payments under Part B to...
Readmission rates after complex cancer operations tend to be higher in hospitals that are considered to be vulnerable because they serve as safety nets in their communities or have a high number of Medicaid patients. Reasons for higher readmission rates are highly complex and involve socioeconomic...
On April 26, 2016, American Society of Hematology (ASH) President Charles S. Abrams, MD, shared the following statement: “Today ASH met with the White House to share scientific recommendations for the National Cancer Moonshot, an initiative spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden that aims to make...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received a nearly $2 billion funding increase—the first large increase for the agency in more than 12 years—in the federal omnibus spending bill Congress passed on December 18, 2015. And President Barack Obama signed the bill into law a day later. The 6.6%...
I knew there was a chance I could get breast cancer, I just never thought it would really happen to me. I am one of 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in our country today. Just weeks after getting a clean mammogram and my 41st birthday, I felt a lump in my breast. As a young and otherwise...