Articles

The COVID-19 pandemic will have far-reaching economic implications in the United States and abroad for the foreseeable future. During this session, Murray Aitken, MBA, Director, IQVIA Institute, presented emerging data regarding some of the ways in which the pandemic is affecting the US economy.

Burt Zweigenhaft, PhD, D.Litt, Founder, Association for Value-Based Cancer Care, moderated a panel session in which 3 experts from the independent actuarial firm, Milliman, discussed recent data showing the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the future of healthcare.

On May 26, 2020, the FDA approved nivolumab (Opdivo; BMS) and ipilimumab (Yervoy; BMS) plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic squamous or nonsquamous non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), regardless of PD-L1 expression, and with no EGFR or ALK aberrations. On May 15, the FDA approved nivolumab plus ipilimumab as first-line treatment of metastatic NSCLC with PD-L1 ≥1% expression.

On May 29, 2020, the FDA approved the immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq; Genentech), a PD-L1 inhibitor, in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech), a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have not received systemic therapy. This is the first immunotherapy regimen approved by the FDA for this type of HCC.

Lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of malignancies that are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Although standard chemoimmunotherapy regimens lead to durable remissions in a substantial proportion of patients, many individuals will relapse and develop refractory disease. Therefore, a clear need exists for the development of novel therapies that are designed to treat relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies.

The development and utilization of novel therapies, including small-molecule agents, have undoubtedly altered the treatment landscape for many indolent non-Hodgkin B-cell malignancies in the frontline and relapsed/ refractory settings. The availability of such agents as Bruton tyrosine kinase, BCL2, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors addresses an unmet need among oncologists and advanced practice providers (APPs) who are seeking additional therapeutic options for their patients, particularly those with relapsed/refractory disease.

On May 19, 2020, the FDA approved a new indication for olaparib (Lynparza; AstraZeneca), a PARP inhibitor, for the treatment of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic HRR mutation, as determined by an FDA-approved test, whose disease progressed after enzalutamide (Xtandi) or abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) therapy. Olaparib is the first FDA-approved PARP inhibitor for prostate cancer.

On May 18, 2020, the FDA approved a new indication for atezolizumab (Tecentriq; Genentech), a PD-L1 inhibitor, for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumor has high PD-L1 expression (PD-L1 stained ≥50% of tumor cells or PD-L1 stained tumor-infiltrating immune cells covering ≥10% of the tumor area), and no EGFR or ALK genomic aberrations, as determined by an FDA-approved test.

The federal government is an active participant in shaping and delivering healthcare policy. The panelists in this session addressed the government’s response to COVID-19 and weighed in on some of the issues that their agencies frequently encountered as medical practices grapple with the new normal.

Nurses are on the front lines like no other healthcare personnel. In this panel, distinguished nursing professionals discussed topics and issues that have arisen during the pandemic. Led by healthcare educator Lillie D. Shockney, the comprehensive panel covered some of the myriad issues nurse navigators confront now, including rising cancer rates in an aging population, and a decline in numbers of oncology nurses and oncologists.