Practice & Policy

In this article we provide a summary of the questions under consideration by the Supreme Court regarding the health care reform legislation, and we explore how the pending decision on this high-profile matter may impact the oncology community.

A multicenter telephone-interview study has found that cancer patients often perceive that communication problems with healthcare providers have contributed to a breakdown in their care, but very few formally report their concerns.

Earlier today the FDA approved pazopanib (Votrient) to treat patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcoma who have previously received chemotherapy. More than 20 subtypes of sarcoma were included in the clinical trial that led to the approval.

Oncologists and their patients are facing disruptive changes in healthcare, research, and communication. This dramatic increase in the quantity and quality has changed our lives forever. However, many of us remain frustrated with our inability to control this information overload.

Just over a year ago, Alex Trebek introduced the world to Watson. IBM insists that Watson is a decision-support tool, meant to assist and not supplant physicians. How might it work in oncology?

Leaders of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) have expressed deep concern that the ability of cancer researchers to bring the promise of science to improve outcomes for cancer patients in the United States is in peril due to a decade of declining budgets at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Of all the sad pronouncements that oncologists deliver, this may be the one that stings the most. If you were expecting hope from your doctor, how would you react to these words? Would you sit with quiet disbelief, or storm out of the office?

The surge in availability of apps for every possible purpose is not limited to Apple but has also occurred with apps for the BlackBerry, for Google's Android platform, and for a number of other devices. The authors discuss their experience with apps that are relevant, directly or indirectly, to the oncology practice for both the iPhone and Android smartphones.

Researchers have reported cases of brain tumors among cardiologists and radiologists that work in cardiac catheterization laboratories. In addition to support from the literature, documenting 5 cases of brain tumors, a new study reports 4 new cases of brain malignancies, all in the left hemisphere of the brain.

The treatment of cancer is shifting to increasingly more oral pills. Most oncology drug labels recommend taking the pills while fasting though often there is evidence that food increases bioavailability of the medication as much as four-fold.

In this interview, Christopher-Paul Milne and Kenneth Kaitin, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. discuss the current challenges of the US Food and Drug Administration review process as it relates to oncology therapeutics and upcoming changes to the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.

All those who walk through your doorway become your responsibility, at least until you either cure them, satisfy them, or in the rare case of incorrigibles, banish them. Opening our office to all comers is part of every doctor's commitment to the sick, and the faster we accept this, the smoother our day will proceed. Sometimes, though, it ain’t easy.

The FDA has granted imatinib full approval as an adjuvant treatment following surgical removal of CD117-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors in adult patients. This comes after results from a phase III trial showed that patients taking imatinib for 36 months had a 5-year overall survival of 92%, compared to 82% for those patients who took the drug for the standard 12 months of treatment.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of vismodegib (Erivedge), for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, for patients who are not eligible for surgery or radiation, and for metastatic disease.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the angiogenesis blocker axitinib (Inlyta), a twice daily oral drug, as a second-line treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.