Latest Conference Articles

Keeping patients on their oral oncology medications involves a combination of active management, record keeping, and coordination among healthcare workers, pharmacy professionals explained during a panel discussion.

Daniel James George, MD, professor of Medicine, professor in Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, discusses how cabozantinib (Cabometyx) is currently being used in practice for patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Speakers at the 2017 Community Oncology Alliance (COA) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, reflect on challenges in the first year of the OCM.

The molecular profile of a patient with cancer who is about to be treated for their metastatic disease is the most critical piece of information you can have for that patient, according to Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD.

Leah Ralph discusses the ACCC’s position on the ACA repeal bill, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) Part B cost control proposals, and the possibility for comprehensive reform on the 340B Drug Discount Program.

An April report from COA stated that PBMs have been calling patients and urging them to get their drugs from PBM-owned pharmacy networks, rather than through physician dispensaries. At this year’s Community Oncology Conference, presentations and discussions focused on this report.

Barbara McAneny, MD, the chief executive officer of New Mexico Cancer Center, discusses how oral targeted therapies and immunotherapies disrupted the traditional methods for financing community practices.

Kathleen N. Moore, MD, assistant professor, Stephenson Cancer Center, The University of Oklahoma, discusses the international, randomized phase III NOVA trial for recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Adding an immunotherapeutic agent to chemotherapy had no impact on survival in patients with recurrent, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a late-breaking trial reported at the 2017 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting.

An immunotherapy targeting human papillomavirus-infected cells led to an unprecedented 1-year survival in patients with recurrent, metastatic cervical cancer, according to a phase II study reported at the 2017 Society of Gynecology Oncology Annual Meeting.

Maintenance chemotherapy failed to improve survival rates for women in complete remission from ovarian cancer after debulking surgery and adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, a large randomized trial showed.

Kathleen N. Moore, MD, discusses the use of PARP inhibitors such as niraparib for the treatment of ovarian cancer – advances that could be practice changing, she says.

A 7-transcript classifiers effectively predicted metastatic disease for patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer, with added promise shown when the gene expression signature was combined with pathologic features.

Patients with relapsed, platinum-sensitive <em>BRCA</em>-mutant ovarian cancer experienced a 13.6-month improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) with the PARP inhibitor olaparib versus placebo, according to data reported at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting.

Patients with <em>BRCA</em>-proficient ovarian cancer who were treated with a carboplatin desensitization regimen had an improved overall survival (OS), according to a retrospective analysis reported at the 2017 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting.

Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, discusses results of the phase III NOVA trial showed the PARP inhibitor niraparib demonstrated an improvement in PFS versus placebo as a maintenance therapy for patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Mismatch repair&ndash;deficient endometrial cancers exhibited significantly higher levels of PD-L1 expression compared with MMR-intact tumors.

Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, discusses the secondary efficacy results of the NOVA trial, which examines niraparib maintenance therapy for patients with ovarian cancer.

Alon Altman, MD, associate professor, Department of Obstertrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Manitoba, discusses neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with high-grade serous carcinoma. Across the world, many centers have shifted to more patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and further chemotherapy.

Alon Altman, MD, discusses a study that examined the effects of number of neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles on patient outcomes.

Results of a recent phase III trial suggested that the PARP inhibitor niraparib warrants consideration for patients with recurrent, platinum-sensitive, high-grade ovarian cancer, irrespective of <em>BRCA</em> status, a reviewer of the study concluded.

Jubilee Brown, MD, obstetrician-gynecologist, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, discusses genetic counseling for patients with breast and ovarian cancer.

Patients with ovarian cancer who were treated at the highest volume centers had superior overall survival but also higher readmission rates compared with lower volume hospitals, casting doubt on the value of this measure for patients with cancer.

Concern about vaccine safety and perceived lack of necessity remain the main reasons parents give for not having their teenage daughter vaccinated against the human papillomavirus.

During the Society for Gynecologic Oncology 48th Annual Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, Jubilee Brown, MD,&nbsp;offered advice on where to access this counseling and why it is so important for women with ovarian cancer to advocate for genetic testing.&nbsp;

Patients with relapsed, platinum-sensitive, high-grade, ovarian cancer saw activity with the PARP inhibitor rucaparib, according to findings from the ARIEL2 study presented at the Society for Gynecologic Oncology 48th Annual Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland.&nbsp;

Elizabeth Swisher, MD, professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance,&nbsp;discusses next steps regarding treatments for patients with ovarian cancer. Combinations of PARP inhibitors with other DNA repair agents or even with immunotherapy has started to interest researchers.

Hypermethylation of 2 wild-type tumor-associated genes increased ovarian cancer responsiveness to the PARP inhibitor rucaparib, according to a subgroup analysis of the randomized ARIEL2 trial presented at the 2017 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women&rsquo;s Cancer.

<p>Emma Barber, MD, UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UNC School of Medicine, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses surgical readmission and survival in patients with ovarian cancer. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to decrease surgical morbidity, lowering the complication rates and risk of death.&nbsp;</p>

A new analysis of a randomized phase II trial showed PARP inhibitor rucaparib slowed progression of relapsed <em>BRCA</em>-mutant ovarian cancer regardless of whether the mutations were somatic or germline.