Articles
By Wayne Kuznar
CHICAGO—Bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy followed by maintenance bevacizumab monotherapy improves progression-free survival (PFS) over chemotherapy alone in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancers, said Robert A. Burger, MD at the 46th American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
CHICAGO—In a phase 1 study in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) deemed worthy of a presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 46th annual meeting plenary session, a multinational group of investigators reported improved survival with an oral investigational agent still unfamiliar to most oncologists.
On July 20, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced shortages of leucovorin for injection. One manufacturer, Bedford, has not supplied a reason for the shortage or a date when supplies will be available. The other manufacturer, Teva, has cited manufacturing delays and provided an estimated release date in the fourth quarter of 2010.
For cancer patients in dispersed urban and rural areas, telephone-based care management and home-based automated symptom monitoring may provide an effective means of managing pain and depression.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new one-vial formulation of docetaxel injection concentrate (Taxotere, sanofi-aventis). This new formulation eliminates the initial dilution step, as well as the second vial containing the diluent. With the one-vial formulation, the pharmaceutical ingredients and the 1-hour intravenous infusion administration remain unchanged.
Hypofractionated (HF) whole breast irradiation (WBI) is effective for many patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to new evidence-based guidelines issued by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
The guidelines, published online in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology∙Biology∙Physics, the official ASTRO journal, define appropriate fractionation of WBI.
Changes in the US healthcare system are needed to overcome continuing racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, according to the American College of Physicians (ACP).
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, Updated 2010, which updates a policy paper released in 2003, outlines recommendations on how to close the gap between racial and ethnic minority patients and their white counterparts.
Strong evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of several managed care pharmacy tools for achieving intended outcomes, such as increased utilization of preferred drugs, formulary compliance, and decreased prescription drug spending, according to an Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP)-sponsored literature review.
The review, conducted by Abt Associates, Cambridge, Massachusetts, examined six managed care pharmacy interventions:
- Step therapy (7 studies)
- Prior authorization review (9 studies)
The majority of patients 70 years or older with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have a poor prognosis and may not benefit from intensive chemotherapy, a study by M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers indicates.